Caught in the Moment
by Silawen00
Summary: Becoming a pokémon trainer is easy. Becoming a good one? That's more of a problem. Amy Kingsby sets out on her very own pokémon adventure with starter pokémon Totodile, but finds out that staying at home wasn't so bad.
1. Of Simple Beginnings

* * *

**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own pokémon or any of its related enterprises. They are the property of their respective owners.  
**Author's Note:** Initial chapter beta'd by Farla. Thank you very much, hun!

* * *

The soft sound of footsteps made its way across the path, voices following suit. Two figures moved under the scorching sun, both talking avidly and obviously disagreeing over something. One was male, tall and lean, the other female, much younger and a lot shorter. They were closely followed by a rattata, the thing currently trying to grab on to the hem of the male's coat. The man, looking about twenty, glanced down at it, laughing at the critter's attempts. Reaching down, he allowed the rattata to climb onto his shoulder.

The argument continued, comments thrown back and forth but not particularly informative. The rattata tried paying attention to what its owner was doing, but soon sleep seemed just as interesting and it closed its eyes, snoring quietly.

Their surroundings consisted of trees and bushes, with some rocks littering the path, but nothing special. It wouldn't keep the pokémon awake. The dusty road twisted through the trees, never in a straight line, curling around everything in its path. It was probably created by the movement of pokémon, but one couldn't be sure.

The two paid no attention to this, however, as they had been in the forest quite a lot and knew everything by heart. The forest, lying on the edge of Sunbark Town, was their training ground. Its rocky patches and long, endless roads made it ideal for practicing moves. They didn't have to worry about accidentally hurting somewhere, for the forest was vast and Sunbark Town very small.

So every day they went there to train the young man's pokémon, with the little girl watching and learning, and the pokémon growing stronger. It was a good thing, as it would be for any future pokémon trainer, that she was able to have such a wonderful role-model, and this girl could completely trust in her brother's knowledge and strength.

But instead of appreciating this, the girl was restless, eager – too eager – to show her worth and do what her brother did. Which to her was training pokémon, battling others, and showing the world how great she was.

Of course that was not reality, but a ten year old girl has a romantic sight on things. Everything was for valour and might. Her brother had allowed her to use his pokémon now and then, for fun and because he could hardly refuse her anything, but still the urge to manage her own life caused her to practically force him to talk to their parents.

Their parents were not particularly interested in pokémon. They owned a growlithe for protection, but that was about it. They were proud of their son, of course, but they didn't understand the connection he had with his pokémon, nor the wish to travel that their daughter had. So they didn't understand that the girl wished to travel to New Bark Town and receive her starter pokémon, but then again she hadn't mentioned it either.

For with all those wishes, she was also remarkably shy. Afraid her parents would not let her go she had asked her older brother, Derek, to ask in her stead. Unfortunately, her big brother wasn't happy with the request; he was all for acting on your own initiative and reaching goals by your own doing. But, as big brothers are supposed to, he eventually agreed and right now the girl was trying her to best to get him to ask ahead of schedule. His schedule, that is.

"Amy, I am not going to visit Mum and Dad anytime soon."

"It's a ten minute walk!"

"You know that's not the problem. They'll ask me to stay longer and I always have trouble refusing them. I have to train this rattata before his owner returns, I don't have the time to go visit our parents and risk having to stay there for another two weeks."

"But, Derek!"

"Don't but me Amy; you will have to wait till Mum's birthday."

"But that's another three weeks!"

The young man sighed; mentally cursing his parent's wish to have another baby ten years after they had conceived him. He loved his baby sister, of course he did, but she was the epitome of little girls; annoying, whiny and possessing the most innocent eyes he had ever seen. He had to make sure that he didn't look into those eyes right now, or he'd be sold, he knew it. She was giving him stiff competition, though, for he was hearing soft sniffling next to him.

"Don't start Amy, I'm serious. For once you'll have to wait or do it yourself."

He knew that comment would have effect on her, after all she wasn't known for her outgoing personality, especially when it came to their parents. Why she wanted to go on a pokémon journey was beyond him, for she never fared well alone and she had the amazing ability to give up the moment something went wrong. He gave her two days before she'd call him to come get her.

No doubt she had a vision of heroic deeds, catching legendary pokémon and winning every battle, as opposed to the reality of days of traveling, seeing more Weedle than you want to, and losing constantly. Perhaps this would be a good lesson for her, to make sure she started seeing things in perspective and learned to appreciate the life she had with her parents. It might not include pokémon much, but they were certainly loving and would no doubt welcome her starter pokémon with open arms.

"Alright," came the soft answer.

She was pouting, he knew it. He would not take the risk of looking at her, but he knew she was pouting. How he managed to deal with her, he'd never know, but then she was his sister so giving up on her was unthinkable.

"Come on sis, you can carry rattata for a bit."

Knowing it would cheer her up, he handed the sleeping form to her, seeing rattata's paws tangle in her dark hair to steady itself. A yawn left it as eyes opened a bit to see what this change was. Assured that it could do no harm, it closed them again, continuing a favourite activity.

-

Quietly removing the chocolate bits from her dress, Amy made no attempt to be social. She was just waiting for Derek to ask her to leave the room. She knew that if he really planned to talk to them, then he wouldn't want to have her there. It was a special talk after all and special talks were always done without the person being discussed present. Perhaps they would even agree on a present for her, something to give her when she left. A great ball, maybe, or even an ultra ball. She knew Derek owned a few, so perhaps she'd receive one of those.

So there she was, waiting patiently for the wonderful events that would no doubt change her life. After all, she knew these things tended to do just that.

"Father, mother, if I can interrupt for a moment?" Derek said, taking his spot next to Amy on the couch. Knowing that some chocolate bits would no doubt now adorn his backside, Amy quickly looked the other way. She waited for Derek to request she leave, but it didn't happen like that.

Her parents, in happy conversation over the latest batch of magazines they'd received, looked at them and smiled.

"Of course, what's the matter?" her mother asked, curious.

"Well, mother, Amy came to me with a request. She wanted me to ask you if she could start her own pokémon journey."

Amy stared at her brother with huge eyes. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She wasn't supposed to be there and he shouldn't mention that she had asked him to do so. It was all wrong! His request was wrong too! He should have asked nicely, with a flourish, charming her parents with the wonderful way of pokémon and the adventures she'd embark on. But he hadn't, now what should…

"Of course, we expected she would want to." Mother interrupted her chain of thought.

"I see no problems with that, unless you do, Derek?" Father this time.

"Not particularly, Father. Every ten year old mildly interested in pokémon goes through this; it's a vital part of their growth."

That was what Derek should have said during his request, but apparently it wasn't even necessary to roll out those kinds of guns. Unlike the way she had imagined it, her parents had agreed to it far sooner than expected.

She was dumbfounded. If she'd known it would be this easy, she might have asked herself. The daunting part of the whole wish to become a pokémon trainer had always been convincing her parents, but obviously they didn't seem to mind. Perhaps those conversations they'd had with the neighbours had changed them a bit? Or maybe they chose to live without pokémon for another reason than hatred for the creatures. It made sense, otherwise they wouldn't own Growlithe.

It was all too confusing, but at least she was allowed to go on her pokémon journey. Scratching her head in confusion she smiled at her parents, appreciating their trust in her.

"Well then, I'm going to New Bark Town in two days, seeing as I have to deliver that Rattata to its owner, so that would be the perfect opportunity to take you there," Derek commented, smiling at the eager look on his sister's face.

"As long as you come back to stay with us for a while, son, we haven't seen you in months," Mother responded, as they had predicted.

Catching the roll of the eyes her brother sent her, Amy could do nothing but think of the journey ahead. What adventures lay before her?

* * *


	2. No Questions Asked

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own pokémon or any of its related enterprises. They are the property of their respective owners.  
**Author's Note:** Initial chapter beta'd by Farla. Thank you very much, hun!

* * *

Amy's eyes – forever dull brown in colour, even when she was as fascinated as she was now - followed the movements in front of her, and her mind was quickly assessing the situation. Derek had practically ordered her to stay with him the last two days, adamant as he was that she should learn more about pokémon care. At the moment she was watching a short training session Derek was having, both his pokémon trying to power-up their existing moves. He had the rattata with him again and the purple menace was trying desperately to overpower the bellsprout facing it. It was no use however. No, indeed, Derek had trained the grass pokémon expertly, so it absorbed all the attacks aimed its way and turned it back on the poor opponent.

The rattata was getting tired while the Bellsprout only seemed to become more confident. Biting and slashing, the rattata tried its all to do damage to the plant, but Amy noticed that none of the attacks really seemed to hit. Instead they glanced right off and the rattata was bounced back.

"See Amy? Pokémon battles are not all about power, it's also about strategy and defence. There are several ways to train a pokémon, but the most important thing is to enhance their strengths and improve their weaknesses. For instance I have learned this Bellsprout to rely on his expert blocking skills, yet also taught him to shield up against fire attacks. He still has the disadvantage, but his expert defence could prove to be useful in any battle."

Amy nodded, absorbing the data and trying to remember all the things he had said that day. All information had revolved around pokémon, of course, mostly centring on food and pokémon health. She had even received some pokéblocks her brother had prepared.

Stretching her legs, she watched as her brother recalled the bellsprout and gave the rattata a pat on the head. The pokémon had improved drastically over the two month period he'd been with them, but even Amy could see that he was still a long way from being ready to evolve, which was all she cared for. The rattata was cute, but its evolved form was so much more powerful.

"Now, just a bit of theoretical questions. You have a battle against a rock type and you have the choice between the three starter pokémon, bulbasaur, squirtle, and charmander, which would you choose?"

"Either the bulbasaur or the squirtle; seeing as they are grass and water and therefore more effective against rock."

"And which of those two?"

This was a tough question. What was the difference between the two? They were grass and water, both would be excellent against rock. Amy frowned, trying to remember what she'd been taught. At the same time her brother was eying her calmly, petting the pokémon on his shoulder. He didn't seem nearly as frustrated as she was.

"Squirtle?"

"And why?"

"Because water is even more effective than grass?"

"But Amy a starter pokémon like squirtle wouldn't know any water attacks, seeing as it learns Bubble at a later stage."

That was right, she had forgotten about that! But then it would be the same with bulbasaur and charmander, none of them would know any elemental attacks. Then what was the difference, their start-attacks? Bulbasaur would know Tackle and Growl, the latter being a move that would reduce attack. Squirtle would know Tackle and Tail Whip, Tail Whip being defence-lowering.

Both would reduce by just a little, she knew this, but then what was Derek pointing at. Rock pokémon like geodude would rely on defence, so should she lower that by choosing squirtle?

"Squirtle, because rock pokémon rely on their defence."

"Correct, but not quite. Not all rock pokémon rely on their defence. Not solely that is. Squirtle is the right answer, not only because he has a defence lowering move; Tail Whip, but he also has higher defence, at that time, than bulbasaur does."

Amy nodded, trying her best to remember it, but she knew that would be a problem. Whenever she needed to remember something, she forgot.

"It's important you think about these things. Same will go with your choices; cyndaquil, totodile and chikorita. You can of course choose the pokémon you like best, but you could also try to see what lies ahead of you. What is the first gym you will come across on your pokémon journey?"

"The gym in Violet City; Falkner and his flying type pokémon."

"Correct. Now none of those pokémon has an advantage, in fact Chikorita would have a disadvantage. So chikorita would not be a good pick, especially seeing that the gym following that houses bug pokémon and chikorita would have a disadvantage to that as well. That leaves us with totodile and cyndaquil. Now you know how popular cyndaquil is, only because he looks cool and is a fire-type pokémon, however my favourite would be totodile. Yes cyndaquil has an advantage over Bug pokémon later on, but cyndaquil's only other strength is his speed while Totodile's attack and defence is so much stronger than that of cyndaquil. Not to mention that he tends to have a better health, so he can endure so much more."

"So you would choose totodile?"

"I would, he is so much more versatile. He may be the slowest of the pokémon – and only a little when it comes to chikorita – but he has an excellent defence that makes up for that and any hit will count with such an attack force."

"But, Totodile turns into that ugly croconaw."

She could see Derek glare at her for that statement, not that she hadn't expected it. Both cyndaquil and chikorita were so much cuter, not to mention their evolutions didn't turn into a dumb looking pokémon like croconaw. No, in fact all of Chikorita's evolutions were downright adorable, with their huge eyes and lovely plant-like features. And cyndaquil and quilava had such lovely faces.

"This isn't a beauty contest, Amy, be aware. If you're planning on being a serious pokémon trainer then you'll choose with your mind instead of your eyes. Otherwise you might as well become a coordinator."

She knew he was right, of course. With pokémon it wasn't all about appearance, but she just didn't know if she could love a totodile. She wasn't a big fan of water-pokémon as it was – the cold and dark depths of the ocean weren't particularly appealing to her – and a totodile wasn't exactly cuddly.

But she had high plans, right? She wanted to be like her brother, be an excellent trainer and catch hundreds of pokémon – okay maybe she was exaggerating, fifty would do – while travelling to every known city. Perhaps she would have to make choices she didn't like if she wanted to achieve that. According to her brother – and he knew his stuff – totodile would be the best starter pokémon, so shouldn't she trust him?

"Alright, totodile it is then," she muttered, shrugging slightly.

"Good girl."

They continued training for another hour before returning to Derek's house to have dinner, enjoying the meal and the comforts of a warm and pleasant room. Setting herself in front of the fireplace, Amy could feel the excitement roar through her, knowing that she only had to wait another day. One day after almost three weeks of worrying whether or not her parents would let her, she could make it, right? Her parents had surprised her, but then again she had never heard that they hated pokémon either, more that they had no need for them.

Feeling two soft forms press against her side, she looked to see rattata and her brother's own typhlosion nestling themselves next to her.

Amy petted the fire pokémon's head, reminding herself that even though she adored cyndaquil and its evolutions she'd choose the Totodile. She could always come home and borrow typhlosion, couldn't she? Derek had never made much of a problem of it that she took typhlosion for a walk now and then, so she didn't foresee any trouble whatsoever.

She knew Derek had gotten himself in quite some trouble when choosing cyndaquil as his starter pokémon. The little fire-pokémon had done its best to win every battle, but their first gym match had been a disaster. Cyndaquil had received blow after blow from the strong beaks of Falkner's pokémon and the stories her parents told her about the guilt her brother had felt while watching his pokémon lie in the pokémon centre made her doubt if she could manage such things at all.

He had returned home for a while after that, visiting his mother and newborn sister while he filled the empty spot of his father who'd gone to visit the Kanto region. During that stay he had trained cyndaquil, exhausting the both of them, which had resulted in a clear victory two months later. He had finally beat Falkner and with his father back home, he could continue his journey. Amy still remembered the smile on her mother's face when she told her the story of his victories. She was most proud.

Yawning slightly, Amy looked at the pokémon next to her, both sound asleep. An image of herself with her own pokémon in front of the fireplace flashed through her mind, though the image didn't include a totodile. Perhaps she had to work on appreciating the pokémon, maybe tomorrow. Now all she wanted was to sleep, and so she did.

She didn't notice Derek put a blanket over the three of them, while shaking his head sadly and walking to his own chair. Looking at his sister, he sat down and pulled a blanket over himself, closing his eyes.

-

The next morning Amy awoke to the smell of freshly picked berries and delicious bacon. Hurrying to the dinner table, she saw that Derek had already prepared breakfast and was now busy feeding his pokémon. Hearing her pull a chair back, he turned his head, smiling.

"Ah, I was about to wake you. Food got to you, eh?"

"Yes, that's the thing I will miss most when travelling; your amazing cooking."

"Why thanks, sis, you are too kind."

Amy enjoyed the breakfast very much and at first didn't notice the small bundle of papers next to her plate. As she picked them up and skimmed through them, she saw it was all centred on totodile. Apparently Derek had printed some information out for her, so she could learn about her new companion.

'Wouldn't it be a laugh if they didn't have any left,' she thought, but immediately scratched that thought.

After all, totodile were not popular pokémon and no doubt there would be plenty left to choose from. The professor would make sure of that.

"Read it through, I'll test you on it in a few minutes."

"Alright."

Reading all the information about the water-pokémon, she felt slightly proud of its attacks. It may be the slowest when it came to speed and learning elemental moves, but the Rage and Bite attacks more than made up for it.

It didn't take her long to read all the information Derek had given her and it proved to be a good thing, for Derek seemed bent on starting the day early and doing a lot.

"Alright, please finish your breakfast Amy. I have a lot of things planned for us."

"Yeah, yeah, hold your rapidash. I am not going to hurry just because you doubt my knowledge."

She could hear Derek chuckle, but ate a bit faster nonetheless. She should be grateful that he was willing to help her like this, even if it meant having to skip part of this wonderful breakfast. Grabbing a couple of berries, she pushed the chair back and nodded to Derek to signal that she was ready. Quickly swallowing the berries, she followed Derek outside.

"Alright, totodile, first two attacks."

"Scratch and Leer."

"Attack types?"

"Normal."

"Evolves into?"

"Croconaw."

"Croconaw has better defence or attack?"

"Defence?"

"Neither, both are about equal."

"That was not a fair question!" she complained, but Derek just waved it away. Somewhere along the lines, it had turned from practice into how many mistakes she could make.

"Things are hardly ever fair in a pokémon match. If an opponent can put you off then he or she will, they don't abide by logic," Derek reasoned.

Amy sulked. "Fine."

"Which Hidden Machines can a totodile learn?"

She paused. She'd never even seen such a machine, let alone used any. Derek had, of course, but he'd never shown her how it worked. Those that got hold of one were terribly lucky, she knew.

"Cut, Surf and…"

"It's a water pokémon. Come on, Amy, you know this."

"Whirlpool!"

"Good, which move can croconaw and feraligatr learn that totodile can't?"

"Strenght."

"Because?"

"Because they are water and fighting types?"

"No, just because they can do one or two ground moves, which doesn't make them water and ground types."

"Dang."

"Concentrate, Amy."

The questioning continued for a while, before Derek started quizzing her on the pokémon inhabiting the routes she would take to reach Violet City. Knowing she would need this information, she tried sucking up as much as she could, but also knew that come morning she would have forgotten half of it. It was beyond frustrating, and while she should have felt pleased with her hard work, instead she felt dejected.

-

Tired from a day filled with quizzes and vital information she had to remember, Amy said goodnight to Derek very early and jumped in bed at a quarter to nine. Information was buzzing through her head, causing a terrible headache. It was only after she fell asleep that this stopped and was replaced by wonderful dreams of herself winning battles and catching legendaries. For the first time since she'd decided which pokémon she'd take these thoughts and dreams actually included a young and cheerful totodile.

Derek was busy preparing the things for the next morning, knowing that all he had tried to teach her still wasn't enough. All those years of taking her with him had only resulted in knowledge slumbering in the back of her mind, knowledge she hadn't used or didn't want to. Hopefully she would find it soon enough, for he was worried that even with his help he could not keep her from feeling an utter failure. Like he had.

* * *


	3. Disillusioned

**Disclaimer:** I do not own pokémon, yadayada. Again thank you Farla for beta'ing. Now enjoy!

* * *

Waiting was a pain. Here she was, all ready to leave, her bag ready and her clothes packed. And she wanted to go, she really did, but her parents were late and she absolutely refused to leave without saying goodbye to them. The thought of being out there, for such a long time, and not having said goodbye was enough to make her stay put. Derek was on his way to see what was keeping them, but he'd been gone for about twenty minutes already and it was only a ten minute walk.

Plucking the loose threads on her backpack she sighed and looked down the path again, hoping to see forms coming towards her. No, nothing.

Beside her sat Typhlosion, left behind by Derek to keep her company. The pokémon seemed calm, collected, unlike her. She was feeling worried yet also annoyed that it was taking her parents so long.

After what seemed like an eternity – but really wasn't much longer than ten minutes – she finally saw forms walk towards her, three to be exact. Leaping to her feet she heard Typhlosion make a chortling noise before getting to her feet as well.

"Amy! Sorry we're late, but we had to wait for your present to arrive," her mother called as they came closer.

"My present?"

"Yes, dear, we ordered it from the Goldenrod Department Store only two days ago, right after we heard you wanted to become a pokémon trainer. Derek told us about this device and we decided that you really needed one."

Her mother handed her a small package, wrapped in Gloom adorned paper, and with a few quick moves Amy had ripped the present clear of that paper, holding only a pokégear in her hands. A smile lit the girl's face as she examined every inch of the thing, enjoying the different functions it had and finding it looked terribly useful. Clicking it to her pokébelt – she had received one from Derek as a starter present – she felt that it was as light as a feather and didn't get in the way at all. Pushing a few buttons she heard the thing make beeping noises and soon several compartments opened, images showing what went where.

"You will be able to listen to the radio through it, it has a map and you can call people with its mobile phone. Be sure to add my number and that of Professor Elm when we get there," her brother advised.

"Who says I want to keep in touch with you, bro?"

"Your fear of being alone and not having someone to rely on," Derek retorted, smiling slightly.

* * *

It took almost ten minutes to say goodbye, another five to assure her mother that she had everything she needed. Derek was being surprisingly supportive through it all, sharing all his knowledge on the matter with his mother and showing her that everything he'd packed had its reasons. It wasn't that he had made her take her whole room, but some things that he added came as a surprise. She had thought about the pokéfood, her own food, the sleeping bag and such, but the lighter, pocket knife, medicine kit and rain coat were things she wouldn't have thought about bringing.

So she had added them, filling the bag. She had stuffed it with food and even more food, which resulted in Derek taking it out, explaining that she would have to buy food at towns seeing as food didn't last all that long. Besides it would make her bag lighter and easier to manage. The only really heavy thing was the sleeping bag tied on her bag and the small cooking pot her mother had handed her. With a few twigs and a fire she would be able to heat soup or dried meat and make it somewhat edible.

Feeling a tug at her arm she saw Derek standing next to her. Knowing that he meant that they should leave she sighed and hugged her mother again, pressing back the tears threatening to spill. At the last moment she was feeling jitters. She knew she was ready for it all, but not necessarily what 'it' would bring. But she couldn't worry about that now or she would never be able leave. With a final goodbye to her parents she took place on the back of one of Derek's Pidgeot. Holding on tightly she didn't have the chance to wave, but knew that her parents didn't care, they would continue to wave till they were out of sight.

At first Amy didn't notice any of the scenery passing by beneath her, so absorbed she was in her own thoughts, but eventually she saw the trees and lakes far down there. Holding on tighter she gazed down, enjoying the trip. This didn't happen often, Derek wasn't one to allow 'field trips' as he was always too concerned for her safety. This time she could actually enjoy the pleasure of flight. Being so high, up and above, was a luxury to Amy and she would definitely enjoy it.

Officially she wasn't allowed to fly pokémon, she knew this, but Derek had trained his Pidgeot wonderfully and he had made a few exceptions along the way. Often because she had begged, of course. This time she hadn't. No, this time she had behaved like a good little girl. Deep down she knew the only reason for that was because she knew Derek would offer to use his Pidgeot anyway. After all the trip would have taken at least a day otherwise, now they'd be able to get there in less than four hours.

Still it was a fairly long flight and Amy was starting to feel hungry about halfway there. Pidgeot didn't seem to notice that they'd been flying for two hours; instead he seemed to enjoy the freedom and would now and then surprise her with a sudden dive, making sure she held on tight all through the journey. She had a feeling Derek had something to do with that.

Derek was flying ahead of her, his Pidgeot somewhat bigger than the one she was sitting on. It was the first pokémon Derek had ever caught – he had told her that – after receiving Cyndaquil and had also been the first to evolve. Thus they had built a remarkable connection. Derek always complained that he couldn't take his buddy out enough, seeing that he had work to do on the ground, something that Amy had heard more than once. That was probably another reason for Derek to choose the Pidgeot to take them.

All in all, the entire journey went rather quickly. The things below were always interesting to see and now and then Amy could swear she saw a moving form. A trainer perhaps, or a pokémon. She enjoyed the freedom flight gave her and fervently tried to remember which badge she would need to obtain to be allowed to. It wouldn't come to her and she stored the question in her memory to ask Derek later.

The following two hours passed much the same. Now and then Derek would slow his pokémon down to fly next to her and ask if she was alright. Obviously she was – otherwise she would have fallen off the huge bird – but every time he asked she just answered to reassure him. In a way he was trying his best to protect her while he could, even if the only thing that could go wrong was her letting go or the Pidgeot doing something wrong. Either way there wouldn't be much Derek could do about it, but big brothers were big brothers and she enjoyed the attention he gave her.

As they neared New Bark Town she could visibly see forests trim down. They became smaller, less cluttered. Their colour lightened and now and then she could distinguish houses through the roof of leaves. The two pokémon were flying lower now, allowing Amy to see the roads more clearly and even notice the difference between a form of a human and a form of a pokémon. Some turned their heads when they flew past, others didn't even notice them.

Much too soon Derek ordered his pokémon to slow down even more and a groan left her throat as she saw a group of houses that could only be New Bark Town. The little town wasn't particularly known for anything other than that

Prof. Elm resided there and new trainers could register for pokemon journeys there. He housed the starter pokémon of the region; Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile. Grass, Fire and Water; the three major elemental types.

As the Pidgeot landed a couple of meters from the first house Amy felt her heart skip a beat. It was finally time; finally. Absently patting Pidgeot on the head she waited for Derek to join her. After a thank you from him both pokémon disappeared in their pokéballs again. Taking a deep breath Amy followed her brother as he walked up the path into the town.

Little was enough to describe it. Except for the pokémon laboratory she knew belonged to Professor Elm everything was small: small houses, small paths, small ponds and a bunch of small trees enclosing it all. Heck, she almost expected the people to be small. They weren't, of course, she noticed as some walked by. Some were easily identified as beginning trainers, like her, but most seemed to be townspeople going on their normal business.

A hand on her arm reminded her that she was supposed to follow Derek. Trotting after him with quick steps she followed her brother before halting in front of the laboratory.

"Now Amy…I'm going to deliver the Rattata and give you the chance to talk to Professor Elm and choose your pokémon," he said, grabbing one of the pokéballs hanging on his belt.

"You're not coming with me?"

"No, it would be best if you went through this alone. After all, most new trainers do. Don't worry, I've heard Professor Elm is a nice man. I might not have met him, but what I heard was encouraging. Don't worry Amy; I'll wait out here for you."

"And if you're not back by then?"

"Then wait, I want to say goodbye. I doubt my errand will take long though."

Nodding in understanding, but feeling slightly abandoned, she watched Derek walk off. As he entered a nearby house Amy stepped forward and entered the laboratory.

Strange sounds and scents assailed her the moment she set foot on the clean stone. The laboratory seemed more homey than she had imagined it to be, but still it reminded her a lot of the doctor's house she had visited quite often as a child.

The room was filled with strange devices and shelves filled with pokéballs. A few aids were busy on computers and another was studying a pokémon she knew to be a Murkrow. He was making all sorts of noises and was obviously not very willing to be a test subject. The aid, however, didn't seem fazed and continued his work.

"Can I help you?"

Amy turned to face one of the aids that had sat behind a computer when she entered. Blushing slightly she nodded.

"I'm here to receive my first pokémon."

"A new trainer, splendid! Professor Elm is in the back, if you give me a moment then I'll bring you to him."

Nodding again she watched the aid walk away and turn off the pc he'd been working on. He motioned her to follow and she was taken to a room in the back, separated from the earlier room by a wooden door. This room was filled with shelves containing pokéballs, neatly divided in three groups. She assumed these were the Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile the professor kept. Glancing at them – itching to grab one – she kept in stride with the aid as he passed the pokéballs.

They came to a table, papers littering it, and behind the table stood a man in a muddy lab coat. He wore glasses and his hair was tousled. This had to be Professor Elm, there could be no doubt. He even looked like a professor.

"Professor? A new trainer has arrived."

The man turned, pushing his glasses up. As his eyes rested in Amy she felt oddly insecure. This man was a pokémon professor; he had probably seen more pokémon in his life than she ever would. He was to change her life. How could she, a ten year old girl from a town he probably never heard of, compare to him?

"Ah, good, good, welcome! My name is Professor Elm, who might you be?"

"I'm Amy Kingsby, I live in Sunbark," she said, so proud she was able to speak without a stutter she even dared to smile.

The professor nodded at this and returned the smile, wiping his hands on his already dirty lab coat. He reached one out and Amy shook it, trying to ignore the stains she knew would now cover her hand. With actions that betrayed his experience with it the professor grabbed an ID card from a stack of papers, writing her name down in practised and clear letters.

"There you are, ID 63427, up and coming pokémon trainer," the professor said before handing the thing to her.

"Make sure to keep it with you at all times. Your pokédex will serve as an ID too, of course, but the ID card is much easier to use. Now, if you'd follow me, I'm sure you're very eager to receive your first pokémon. Jason if you'd be so kind as to grab a new pokédex for me? I'm sure they brought me a few recently."

Of course Amy didn't mind following the professor, in fact she couldn't wait. As she had thought the pokémon were kept on the shelves she had seen earlier, dozens lying in wait to be given to a new trainer not unlike herself. Strange how such rare pokémon were given out so readily to anyone that would come by.

The professor grabbed three, one from each shelf, and placed them on a nearby desk. Their pokéballs all shone, adding to the importance of it all. Her first pokémon, her very own, she couldn't wait.

"Now, here are the pokémon you can choose from. Cyndaquil, Totodile and Chikorita. Do I have to tell you about them?"

"Ehm, no sir. My brother has told me all about them, he's a trainer."

"Good, good, then you must have chosen already?"

"Yes, I've decided on Totodile."

"Excellent, excellent, that saves us a lot of time." With quick steps the professor stepped back towards the desk, grabbing one of the pokéballs. He handed it over to Amy and she couldn't help but stare at the red-and-white ball in her hands. It was heavier than empty pokéballs, she noted, but not by much. Just enough to alert the person bearing it that it was occupied by a pokémon.

The aid that had been sent off returned with a red device in his hands. She knew that to be a pokédex. Her brother owned one – an older model – and she had been allowed to look at it now and then. Now she thought about it that might come in handy, after all she knew how to work with it.

Professor Elm added some information to the thing, quick fingers dancing over the buttons with practised ease. It only added to the feeling that she was just another job for the professor. Not that she could blame him; of course, he couldn't talk and get to know every new trainer that came to him, but for some reason she hadn't expected it to be like this. He was trying to hurry things along so he could get back to work, while for her it was the single most important thing in her life.

"There we go, all set. Now the pokédex has information on all pokémon found in the Kanto and Johto region, along with most of the Hoenn region. Some might not yet be recorded seeing as they're fairly rare, but you would be able to find data on most of them. Not that you'd come across many of them in this region, but there will always be some trainers carrying them. It will record which pokémon you have seen, caught and currently own. It displays basic information, attacks and type and has the function to request more in-depth information. As said before it can also serve as an ID card. Keep it save, it is a valuable and rather expensive trinket."

Amy nodded again, feeling like that was all she could do. What could she say? Nothing. Could she add something to it? No. So she stayed quiet. With her pokéball in her hand and about to receive her pokédex she felt strangely devoid of the floaty feeling she had imagined that would accompany the receiving of her things.

"If there's anything else I can help you with then feel free to ask. My phone number is enclosed in the pokédex, so you can always call me."

Another nod. Professor Elm smiled pleasantly at Amy before patting her shoulder.

"Don't worry dear, everything will be fine. Good luck on your adventure. I would love to stay and chat, but I have some very interesting research to perform and I really cannot let it wait any longer. Pokémon trainers have been stopping by almost all day, you see."

Hearing the request to leave in his words Amy thanked the professor and followed the aid to the exit. All in all it hadn't taken more than twenty minutes. For some reason Amy felt dejected about it, but she couldn't quite place the feeling.


	4. A Baby's First Steps

**Disclaimer:** I only own 8 pokémon games and some 'books' on it, that's it. Plot and characters are mine.  
Again I want to thank Farla for doing the beta and my readers for leaving such nice and inspirational reviews. It helps a lot. :)

* * *

The road to Cherrygrove city wasn't particularly long or dangerous, Amy knew, as it stretched over the grasslands. Now and then she would see a few ridges on the horizon. The road was man-made, she noticed, for not far off she could see the contours of trees sticking out against the blue sky. She was faintly interested in entering those forests, but she knew that close to Cherrygrove City there would be enough forest to satisfy her curiosity and that she really had to reach the city – though its size hardly qualified it as a city – before nightfall.

Totodile had been out for a bit before, but the pokémon had refused to walk the entire trip and Amy had resorted to recalling him so she could pick up the pace. Not exactly a great first meeting. But then she didn't know the pokémon yet, something which a good meal could probably remedy.

Wiping her brow she stared at the road ahead, trying to calculate the distance still left. Clucking her tongue as she saw the time on her pokégear she looked around to find a good place to take a break. To her satisfaction she had made good time and had taken fewer breaks than she expected to take. After all, she wasn't particularly used to travelling all day. Finding a nice patch of grass to the side of the road, in the shade of a tall pine tree, she dropped her bag and sat down, stretching muscles and yawning a bit.

Grabbing her pokéball she let her pokémon out, noticing Totodile's disorientated look.

"We're on the road to Cherrygrove, Totodile; I thought we should take a break and have a snack."

The water pokémon made noises in reply, but Amy wasn't exactly sure what he was saying. Probably something along the lines of his wish to receive food. Shrugging she opened her bag and grabbed a small sack with pokéfood. Derek had prepared it and insisted she kept it dry and cool so it wouldn't disintegrate.

As Totodile came towards her she handed him some of the food, watching him gobble it down and make what she guessed to be pleased noises. He was practically begging for more and Amy indulged him, though mentally scolding herself for giving him more than he needed. But he was a male pokémon and, like normal males, he'd probably respond best to food.

"I haven't come across any pokémon yet, Totodile. Except a few Pidgey flying overhead."

She sighed, staring gloomily down the road. In the distance she could see a silhouette, probably a trainer. She had seen a few, but all took one glance at her and continued on their way. Either they were scared of her – which she doubted – or she wasn't worth their time. Amy had hoped to come across one of the trainers Prof. Elm had mentioned earlier, she was itching for something to do and she really wanted to test Totodile's skills.

For some reason the path she had been walking on was devoid of pokémon. Pidgey she saw, but only high up in the sky where she would not be able to attack them, let alone catch them.

The rustling of a few Rattata or Sentret in the high grass was the only sign that there were pokémon nearby, but whenever she walked their way and let out Totodile the small rodents were already gone. It was beyond annoying and she had given up on pursuing them. Hopefully she'd be able to catch some pokémon later on.

She knew that up ahead a perimeter house was located, leading to the end of the mountain road. She wouldn't be able to climb the road that led to Blackthorn, but at the base of the mountains was a huge patch of high grass in which many a pokémon hid. The chance of catching a pokémon would outweigh the loss of time from the detour she had to make. But she wasn't there yet, it would take at least another hour or so, or longer if she extended her break more.

"Well Totodile, we'd better continue. Derek would kill me if he found out I was wasting precious time to fill my abnormally large stomach."

Smiling at the thought she got to her feet, motioning Totodile to follow. With an indignant 'dile' the pokémon followed, his large hind legs pulled up high with every step. His feet crushed the grass as he muddled on, sulking.

It didn't take long before he managed to fall behind. Amy, persistent that he'd make an effort for once, waited patiently. Totodile, seeing his trainer standing there, walked even slower.

Amy, trying hard to fight the urge to recall him, walked up to him. The Totodile eyed her, crossing his arms defiantly. Apparently he was not willing to cooperate.

"Totodile! If we want to go to Mountain Road and still reach Cherrygrove in time then we need to speed up a bit, your stalling really isn't helping."

But nothing she said seemed to help, for all the Totodile did was continue taking small steps. Very small steps. Sighing, Amy tried pushing her pokémon forward, but soon found out that those teeth weren't there just for show. Indignant that he was being pushed along the water pokémon snapped at her, teeth grazing the sensitive skin of her hand. Quickly pulling her hand back she stared at the pokémon with big eyes, her lips trembling slightly. This was not what she had expected, at all. Perhaps she should have chosen Chikorita or Cyndaquil, or even another Totodile. This one seemed quite a lazy bum and that was not what she had had in mind for her first pokémon.

The Totodile, still eying her defiantly, was making noises as she glared at him. His arms were crossed and his hind legs were digging in the earth, trying to show his displeasure. His strong tail was being banged on the road, dust and small rocks jumping up from the pounding. She looked at the pokémon, unsure what to do. She shouldn't give in to this, she knew, but perhaps this Totodile just wasn't used to walking? Or built for it? After all, he was a water pokémon and they weren't known for their mobility on land.

Turning her head towards the horizon she could just see the contours of trees closing in on the path. She knew that there the nicely placed roads would end and they would be replaced by curving paths. If she was lucky she would find the direct route to the Mountain Road instead of one that dwindled into nothing as she went along and ended up with her lost in an unknown forest. Knowing that she really had to get going she glared at her pokémon and grabbed his pokéball. A pleased 'toto' was all she heard before the Totodile was nothing more than energy in a ball.

Cursing soundly at the stubbornness of her 'companion' she trudged along; her feet beating heavily on the crushed sand. If she ever had hopes of finding a pokémon they was crushed now, seeing as no pokémon could ignore the sound of a Rhydon charging down the path. She passed an adult man with a Venomoth on his shoulder, but she didn't pay him any attention. For one thing she had no interest in anyone's company save her own, and for another, if he owned a Venomoth then she was hardly competition.

The trainer seemed to disagree with her thoughts though, for he pursued her at a small run. Amy groaned inwardly. She really wanted to meet and battle a trainer, but even she wasn't as stupid as to think that this trainer was someone she could beat.

"Hey! Miss! Wait a moment!"

Amy turned abruptly, eying the man in front of her. She pushed back the tears that threatened to spill, but knew her eyes must be red. She just hoped the man wouldn't notice.

The trainer in question had to be a few years older than Derek, although not nearly as tall. His hair was a dark brown, nearing black, and pulled back into a pony-tail. He wore the most curious of glasses and his backpack was torn and near breakdown, but all in all he seemed a real trainer.

The Venomoth on his shoulder was making noise, annoyed by the sudden change of pace. Flapping its wings the pokémon adjusted its stance on the man's shoulder and then glanced down in curiosity, looking what had caused its master to suddenly take off like that.

"Are you alright? You seemed a bit distraught, have you been crying?" the man asked, a concerned look on his face.

"No…well, yes. You see I started just recently, this morning actually, and my pokémon won't cooperate."

She sniffed slightly, finding it hard to keep from crying at the concerned and helpful look the man was giving her. She always had a hard time not breaking down when someone showed compassion.

"That can be tough. I can remember that my starter pokémon was just as bad.

It was a Squirtle and as soon as he had learned Bubble he would soak me every morning, begging me to wake up. He didn't mean any harm, but still it wasn't exactly comfortable. What kind of pokémon did you get?"

"A Totodile."

"And he's being stubborn?"

"Yes, he refused to walk with me and when I urged him along he tried to bite me!"

"Yep, that sounds like a Totodile. You see water pokémon aren't very interested in long walks, they'd much rather swim around. My Squirtle wasn't big on walking either, though it got worse when he evolved. It's just not their thing. And the biting, well, it's a common trait with Totodile. It's even listed in their pokédex description."

"It is?"

"Yes, sure is. Why don't you check it out, the pokédex is always very valuable when it comes to information on pokémon."

Nodding, Amy dug in her pocket and grabbed the pokédex, opening it and searching for the information on Totodile. As soon as the pokédex had found the right entry a mechanical voice cut through the air.

"Totodile: Despite the smallness of its body, Totodile's jaws are very powerful. While the pokémon may think it is just playfully nipping, its bite has enough power to cause serious injury."

So the biting was just playful nipping? That couldn't be. It had been his reaction to her poking, instead of a response to her proposition of a game. He didn't seem that happy with her either, so she had to conclude that it couldn't be a 'playful nip'. It did mean that she'd have to be careful next time; it seemed that her Totodile was more than it seemed. Of course she knew Totodile had strong jaws, but she had never thought about it fully.

"But it wasn't meant as a game, he looked really annoyed," she said, hoping that this stranger could help her.

"It could be that he was just annoyed. Pokémon have their own personalities, perhaps you received a rather cranky one. Don't worry; he'll come around soon enough. Just get to know him."

"Thank you, I'll do that."

Amy felt somewhat better. It wasn't uncommon to have a somewhat odd pokémon. Most had a side to them that was less appealing. If this Totodile was a bit lazy and snappy then she'd have to live with that and try to train him to behave differently. It would only be another task she had to fulfill, it could be adventurous!

"Very welcome. Glad I could help. I'm Jason by the way."

"Amy, nice to meet you."

"I take it you're heading for Cherrygrove city?"

"Yes, but I wanted to take a detour to go visit the end of the Mountain Road."

"Aaah, yes, it's quite a nice spot to catch pokémon. Be careful not to stay out there at night though, you could find yourself trapped in a swarm of Beedrill or dragged down by a sturdy Geodude."

The thought wasn't exactly pleasant, she wasn't sure which of the options she disliked most, but she wasn't about to back down. After all, she didn't plan to stay there during the night.

"I'm not planning to stay," she said, her voice sounding slightly restrained. For the first time on her journey she realized how alone she'd be.

Derek wouldn't there to help her when a Caterpie entangled itself in her hair, Growlithe wouldn't be there to scare the Pidgey off when they tried to steal her food and she wouldn't have her parents back her every decision. It was a scary thought.

"Good, you shouldn't."

She looked up at the man, watching him pet the Venomoth unconsciously. She wasn't a big fan of bug pokémon, let alone any this big, but she could understand the appeal this one held to its master. He – or she, she didn't know – was a fine specimen, obviously well trained and high-level. The Venomoth's head was moving from side to side as Jason scratched his belly, making Amy smile. This seemed to be a recurring ritual, for the Venomoth casually lifted his legs when Jason continued scratching his belly, as if they'd done it countless times before.

"That's a lovely Venomoth."

Jason looked up, smiling at her.

"She is, yes. I trained her from a level 6 Venonat, we've been best friends ever since. She isn't as strong as most of Bugsy's pokémon, but she can put up quite a fight and training under him has done her good."

"Bugsy? Isn't he a gym leader?"

"The leader of Azalea Gym, yes. I've been training under him for close to a year now, it's been fruitful."

"But he's.."

"Young? Why yes, he is, but they don't call him the bug pokémon encyclopedia for nothing. He really knows what he's doing and I respect him for that, he teaches a lot of valuable things."

To study bug pokémon all day… Amy felt the chills run down at back at just the mere thought. How could anyone stay around them for long? They crept where they weren't supposed to, they stung without provocation and they left slimy trails of String Shot. Heck, Weedle and its evolutions could even poison you! And here was someone that spent time with them everyday. She could appreciate bug pokémon such as Butterfree – though not its pre-evolutions – Venomoth and Scyther, but that was about it.

So it wasn't so strange that she found the words of this man so surprising. He appeared to be a bug pokémon trainer, yet not one of the puny bug catchers Derek had told her about. According to him most bug catchers caught small bug pokémon, a bunch of them, intending to overpower their opponents by sheer numbers instead of power and hopefully get their pokémon to evolve. She hoped to never meet one. Jason, however, didn't seem like a bug catcher in the slightest, yet he owned a Venomoth and trained at the bug pokémon gym, odd.

"Do you own any other pokémon?"

"Yes," Jason answered. "I own quite a few, but I prefer to fight with Venomoth while I try winning more badges. I can always use my other pokémon when things go wrong. At the moment I'm just trying to train Venomoth so she can get stronger."

"That sounds interesting."

Amy wasn't sure what else to say. In fact, she felt the urge to get away from this trainer. Not because she was scared of him or because he looked unpleasant, but simply because she felt small and young compared to him. Here she was, almost crying over an unwilling pokémon, when he had several pokémon yet was trying to beat gyms with just his Venomoth. She couldn't compare.

As she was pondering this the man looked at the horizon, dark eyes scanning the sky. Amy could just faintly see the green of the trees up ahead, but not what was so interesting to the man.

"I would hurry if I were you, a storm's coming. It shouldn't hit till later tonight when you're in the pokécentre, but you never know," he said, patting Venomoth on the head as the bug pokémon made uneasy noises.

"How can you tell?"

"See how the clouds up ahead are cluttering together? The wind is growing, soon too much pressure will be put on the clouds and they'll darken; this will start a downpour."

A storm? Well, that was just great. A rainstorm on her first day out! Of all the rotten things to happen, she had to end up in a storm. Perhaps she should go right past the Mountain Road and return there after a good night sleep in the pokémon centre. She didn't particularly like dark murky nights with rain pounding down on her. She was even a bit afraid of the dark – or a lot – if she admitted to it. Yes, staying at the pokémon centre suddenly seemed like a wonderful idea.


	5. Capturing Greatness

* * *

**Beta once again done by Farla, thank you.  
Disclaimer: I still do not own pokémon, surprising, no?  
**

* * *

Outside it was dark, and nothing but lights of the house at the other side of the road could be seen. Rain was beating against the window, drops gliding down in remarkable patterns. Her eyes were following them as she rested her elbows on the windowsill, head in her hands. Now and then she could see a form make its way across the road, most heading for the door a few meters away from her. Every time someone entered she could feel the chill make its way through the room, as well as it adding to the scent of wet person.

Lightning flashed somewhere in the distance, showing Amy that the worst was over. It wouldn't be dry anytime soon, but at least the chance of getting fried by lightning was ebbing away. Shifting at the sound of footsteps she gladly accepted the warm meal Nurse Joy handed her. Placing the meal on the table she immediately started eating, eyes following Nurse Joy as she made her rounds through the pokécentre.

It was busy, not surprisingly, and she could see trainers everywhere. Some were literally soaked; others – like her – had managed to reach the centre just in time to outrun the storm. Had she stopped at the Mountain Road she would now be clutching a hot drink and wrapped in blankets. Thank heavens for Jason and his good advice. Jason himself had decided to continue on through the forest. Apparently he was used to rain and knew how to deal with it, staying under the protection of leaves and hoping fervently that no lightning would strike. Amy couldn't understand why anyone would take such a risk, but frankly she didn't care.

Their talk hadn't continued on for long, Amy had felt the need to journey on, scared as she was that she'd be caught in the storm. And so she nearly had been, having to practically run the last bit. She had asked for a room, but soon found out that none were available. She would have to share with two other trainers. Apparently she was going to share rooms with a pair of brothers, one her age and one some years older than her. She just hoped none of them carried any Bug pokémon. Just the thought of them escaping their pokéball and coming for a 'visit' was enough to make her shudder.

As she finished her meal she noticed the talk in the centre becoming less. Most trainers seemed to prepare for bed and some were handing their pokémon to Nurse Joy to spend the night with her to heal. A few were still avidly talking about something or another, their pokémon – an Oddish and a striking Marowak – were talking as well, in their own pokélanguage and obviously enjoying the time together.

For a moment Amy felt sad that she hadn't let Totodile out to get to know the pokémon, but she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to risk a disgrace. After all if Totodile refused to acknowledge her or listen to her then all the trainers here would know that, no…she had made the right choice.

Yawning slightly she stared outside again, eyes trying to pierce through the darkness. All she could see now were the dim lights on the other side of the road; showing that houses were situated there. She hadn't had a chance to investigate the town yet, but she was planning to do so the next morning before going back to the Mountain Road.

After a few minutes Amy decided she should go to bed, after all the next day would be quite tiresome and she planned doing quite some interesting things.

As she reached her room for the night she heard soft talking, obviously her roommates. A young boy with sparkling blue eyes looked up as she entered, an older boy – perhaps a year younger than Derek – was sitting up on his bed.

"Ah, good evening. We heard we would have company over night," the older boy said, reaching out his hand and shaking Amy's.

"I'm Carl and this is my brother Damian."

"I'm Amy."

"We were just talking about going to bed, if you want to stay up just tell us."

"No, no, I better go to bed too. I'm tired."

In silence the three made their beds, all too aware that they had nothing to discuss as of yet. When she crept in her bed and listened to the beating of the rain on the window Amy could not help but think of home and her own, small – yet comfortable – bed.

* * *

The ground was still muddy from the night before, puddles littering the path and leaves floating and rippling every pool she saw. Totodile was walking alongside her, making happy noises as he jumped in every muddy hole he saw, his blue coat now a striking brown because of the mud and the water. Amy, happy that the Totodile was cooperating, smiled every time he hopped around with glee.

The sky was still somewhat grey, though the clouds had vanished, but that could be attributed to the early hour. It was 9 o'clock and Amy had just left the houses of Cherrygrove City behind her. After an early breakfast she was now enjoying the cool morning air. The boys she had stayed with had still been asleep when she'd left, carefully dragging her things out. She wanted to get an early start so she could take her time at the Mountain Road and still make it to Violet City in time.

A short tour through Cherrygrove had shown her that the city was nothing special. A few houses, a pokémon centre, a pokémart – in which she had bought several pokéballs and two antidotes – and a connection to a lake. Or sea, she wasn't sure. So all in all she was focusing her attention on the Mountain Road.

Cursing softly as she lifted a drenched foot from a puddle Amy looked ahead, seeing the by now familiar contours of trees. Yesterday she had taken the wrong road once and ended up at the guard post for the Mountain Road. Now she knew where it lay – and could actually enter it – she was able to go to it directly instead of wander around aimlessly. While swerving around pools she whistled a happy tune, following her pokémon down the path and onto clear patches of grass that went parallel to the way to the Mountain Road. Fingering the lone pokéball in her pocket – the others were neatly placed on her belt and the remaining two kept in her bag – she thought of the adventures ahead.

After an hour of walking, albeit at a slower place than at the start, she finally reached the perimeter house and with a quick show of her ID was let out of the guard house and onto the Mountain Road. Or the end of it, anyway. There the mountain was. Its peaks rose up in front of her, small dots of bird pokémon circling around the tips and soaring past the edges. Small rocks dropped down now and then and rolled down, taking with them bigger stones. In between the grass she saw more rocks littering the ground, causing small dents in the earth.

Tawny trees grew at the edges, some of their branches resting against the rock walls. Small flowers had risen and were adding some colour to the otherwise dull environment. The only downfall to the area was that everything was wet and the grass patches were slightly soaked, thus making it hard to get across. Totodile followed, enjoying the water that jumped up whenever he let his heavy hind legs down. Obviously the water pokémon felt much better now the ground was more suited to his body.

"Come on, Toto."

Her Totodile listened for once and danced his way across the field, kicking up water as he went. Amy made sure to stay a couple of steps behind him and not get soaked in the process.

It was a fresh day for her and she hoped it would go better than the last. Enjoying the morning air she neared a few trees. She could just make out a Pidgey sitting on a treebranch, but as Totodile stormed through the grass the small bird pokémon flew off with a few alarmed calls.

"Really, Toto, how are we to catch any pokémon if you're acting like a Tauros with a toothache?"

The water pokémon eyed her for a moment then simply continued on, kicking stones against trees as he went. Following him Amy could do nothing but grumble a bit. She couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at his behaviour. She desperately wanted to catch some pokémon here, but none of them would be caught with her stomping Totodile around. And if she could catch one then that one would be appallingly stupid, no doubt.

Totodile, in the meantime, continued to bang his tail against trees and throw rocks at random branches. He seemed to enjoy it immensely, since he wouldn't stop dancing and making noises. Amy watched her pokémon as he launched his body against a tree, making the thing quiver. It wasn't a particularly large tree and so it moved wildly as Totodile watched it. Again he bounced against the tree, with even more force this time.

"Toto, leave that poor tree alone," Amy tried, but the pokémon ignored her and resumed his game.

Moments later Amy could swear she saw something fall out of the tree, landing on the ground with a heavy thud. She thought nothing of it at first, until Totodile moved closer to it and stopped to look. Deciding she might as well see what was there she stepped forward and looked down to find a creature lying on the ground.

A bug pokémon; Weedle, to be exact. The creature appeared disorientated for a while, but as it looked up at the Totodile an angry look came on its face.

Its tail whipped around and lunged at Totodile, making the water pokémon jump back. Amy was surprised as she saw the small bug pokémon get back on its many feet and narrow its eyes. The light body moved forward, noises following the critter as it went, forcing Totodile backwards.

"Come on Toto, let's catch it!"

She got all excited, even though she disliked bug pokémon. Here was her first real opportunity at catching a pokémon. True it had been a lucky encounter, but luck was what a pokémon trainer needed and luck she received.

"Don't let the Weedle get to you, Toto, be careful," Amy said while grabbing her pokédex.

"Weedle; Often found in forests, eating leaves. It has a sharp stinger on its head that injects poison."

"Well that's useful," she muttered as she put the pokédex back in her pocket.

"Be careful of the stinger, Toto! Start of with a leer to scare our opponent," Amy instructed, watching her pokémon stare at the small Weedle menacingly.

Totodile's eyes seemed to grow in size as he focused his attention on the Weedle and tried to scare the critter. The Weedle seemed unaffected at first, but Amy could see it move uncomfortably before stepping back a bit. Suddenly the Weedle countered the move and strings shot from its mouth, covering a surprised Totodile. The pokémon started clawing at the sticky material and easily rid itself of it, but became annoyed nonetheless. The Weedle, however, didn't stay in one spot during the attack and hurried over to where the Totodile was standing, aiming for the water pokémon with the poisonous barb on its head.

"Watch out, Toto, jump to the side, quickly!"

The Weedle flew past, landing rather hard on the forest floor. Totodile made happy noises before concentrating on the enemy again. The bug pokémon got back to its feet and turned, looking fairly disgruntled and annoyed. More strings were shot Totodile's way, but his sharp claws were able to claw through most of them.

"Scratch him, Totodile, let's see how he manages that," instructed Amy. She saw her Totodile lunge at the small Weedle, claws ready.

At first the Weedle was able to evade the attacks, but the moment it let its guard down to shoot more string shots Totodile caught it and threw it away with a well aimed scratch. The Weedle landed hard again and seemed to struggle with getting up, blinking rapidly and making faint noises. Amy didn't wait for long, soon a red-and-white pokéball flew through the air and landed on the Weedle, dematerializing it into energy and capturing it inside.

A few weak bobbles were all that it took before the Weedle gave in and the pokéball stopped moving. Happy with the capture Amy walked closer and grabbed the pokéball, looking at it before clipping it to her belt. No doubt the Weedle would not be happy, so she better heal it first before letting it out.

"Good job, Totodile, it might be just a Weedle, but it is a pokémon. You have to start somewhere, I guess."

Totodile was long gone, though, happily scratching at trees and bumping his heavy tail against them. Amy sighed slightly before following him towards the base of the mountain.

* * *

_Sorry for the long wait, I hope to finish the next one sooner. - Sila_


	6. A Travelling Companion

Disclaimer: I still do not own anything.  
This chapter has not been beta-read, so it will contain errors.

* * *

"Totodile, please sit still and eat," Amy tried.

She received a look of disinterest. Weedle, on the other hand, seemed stuck on his – or her, how was she to know? – spot next to her. The little bug pokémon had decided he didn't like Toto and had noticed that the water pokémon didn't particularly care for Amy. Smart as the bug was he had moved towards her, planting his lithe body right next to her hand. It had taken all of Amy's willpower not to jump up and sit somewhere else.

She was used to it now and watched as the little Weedle munched on some dry leaves. How he could eat leaves with such vigour was something Amy couldn't understand. However, he seemed to like it. Who was she to deny her pokémon anything? At least this one was more inclined to behave.

Totodile had taken off again, nibbling on a piece of dried pokéfood as he did what he usually did, banging his tail against trees. Now and then a Pidgey or two would fly up, leaving Amy with a feeling of annoyance. Totodile didn't seem at all interested in the pokémon that fled away from his behaviour, yet she was. A Pidgey was a nice pokémon to start with. Pidgey's fully evolved state was Pidgeot, and how could you not love the huge and beautiful bird pokémon. Fact was Derek's Pidgeots had made her dream of owning her own, flying on its broad back. Toto didn't seem to share that dream.

She had considered throwing Weedle up a tree, seeing what the little bug could do, but the thought of soft flesh being pecked at by sharp beaks kept her from acting on it. No, you shouldn't attempt catching a bird pokémon with a bug, no matter how desperate you were.

"You'd think he'd get bored of hitting the same tree over and over," Amy said to Weedle, receiving nothing but a few blinks in return.

With a sigh she got back on her feet, watching as a young girl walked past. Her mother, presumably, walked next to the little girl as they made their way back to Cherrygrove city. Amy had made good time and knew she was just to the outskirts of Cherrygrove. The woman smiled at Amy as they passed, nodding politely. Amy nodded in return and decided that she too should head back. It was almost midday and she wanted to move to the next town.

Violet City was just as unknown to her as Cherrygrove city was, but at least she'd heard of it. She knew a Gym was located there, but that was pretty much all she knew about it. She had considered getting herself a guide, or some sort of map, but figured that seeing as a road-sign said it was pretty close she'd wait. No use spending the remains of her already small amount of money.

"Toto, Weedle, we're off. We'll be going to Violet City," she told her pokémon and returned them to their pokéballs.

The two small balls were placed on her belt and off she went, making for the small city of Cherrygrove.

As she entered the village again she saw a young girl about her age leave the town's pokémart, petting the small Pidgey that was stationed on her shoulder. Apparently the girl had been luckier than her when it came to catching Pidgey. Unhappy at the obvious sneer she was receiving from above she passed the girl without looking and headed for the road she knew lead out of Cherrygrove and towards Violet City.

The first glimpse Amy caught of unkempt grass was enough to make the feeling of freedom return. The roads were still man-constructed, but at least the patches of tall grass and the occasional tree gave one the feeling that the there was so civilization nearby. Well, if one ignored the various road-signs.

The trees were taller here, she noted, and there was no way that Toto could make these trees sway, no matter how hard he tried. Maybe this would cure him of his fascination with them.

A moment she pondered staying on the path, but the thought of missing interesting pokémon kept her from actually doing so. She pushed some grass aside with her hands and plunged in, eagerly moving forward. At one point she nearly tripped, but she righted herself and slowed down a bit. Killing herself would not benefit her, after all.

Left and right grass moved, but whenever Amy turned the thing that had caused it was gone. It did not dishearten her; at least she knew there was plenty around to catch. Just in case she came across something interesting she kept her hand on Toto's pokéball, ready to release him at a moment's notice.

The grass parted in front of her and a head stuck out, startling Amy. Brown eyes looked at her and then a small woman got to her feet and dusted off her hands on already dusty trousers.

"Oh, my apologies. I was a bit busy, didn't see ya coming. Would have been quite hard, though, I was on the ground. Not a comfy place to be, the ground, but sometimes necessary,"

Amy stared at the woman, taking in her messy hair and the brightly coloured sweater she was wearing. It was made of the brightest purple and Amy had a hard time believing a grown woman would have bought it. Weren't woman supposed to have a sense of style?

"Oh, sorry, I'm babbling again, aren't I? I'm Carrie," the woman said, wiping her brow with a dirty hand, leaving a few stains.

"I'm Amy."

"Well, Amy, nice to meet you. Sorry about scaring you, I was looking for some Oddish."

"Oddish?"

A grab in her pocket and the pokédex came out. A few buttons were pressed and the right entry came up.

_Oddish: Awakened by moonlight, it roams actively by night. In the day, it stays quietly underground._

"So, they're underground at the moment?"

Carrie laughed softly at that and Amy felt stupid instantly. Had she said something funny?

"I don't think so, not here anyway. I believe they need more water than can be found here, plus there are too many people around here, even at night. I've been looking for them for a while now, but I haven't even seen a trace."

"You must be a researcher, then," Amy stated.

A contemplating look appeared on the woman's face, "I guess you could say that. I'm just interested in where they live. I've come to the conclusion that they prefer remote grassy field, where it rains frequently. It would make digging into the ground easier, plus there would be more nutritious substances. At least that was the case in the Kanto region. I'm now heading for Violet City. I've heard a lot of Bellsprout live there, yet no Oddish. I believe these two pokémon species have an odd rivalry. Also, Bellsprout tend to live in dryer soil. I want to find out why no Oddish live there."

"Oh, I'm going to Violet City too. I want to challenge Falkner."

"The gym leader, eh? You must be a trainer, then."

"Yes, I started yesterday."

"Oh, how very exciting! Well then, miss Amy, want to journey together? I'll tell you something about Oddish and you can keep me company. How about it?"

Amy considered this option and decided that it could do no harm. In fact, she could probably learn from this woman. She seemed a bit odd, but if she had been through the entirety of the Kanto region then she must be doing something right. She nodded and Carrie smiled.

"Good, good. Let's get a move on, then. Lead the way, Amy!"

And off the two went.

* * *

It was surprising to Amy how easily Carrie adapted to the environment. Where Amy stepped in holes and almost tripped over a lone tree-root Carrie always managed to step around them or over them, as if she had a sixth sense that told here where and when she was about to take a misstep. Amy had, of course, tripped twice and almost twisted her ankle when she didn't see a hole. Carrie had, with enthusiasm, told her that it was most likely a Rattata hole. 

A Rattata hole. Amy had never really considered where the little rat pokémon would live when in the wild. Derek's training buddy had always slept in its pokéball, and if it didn't it would sneak up to Derek's bed and lie down next to his head. The little creature didn't have to sleep outside like these wild ones.

Amy had stared at the hole for a while, noticing the little creases in the harsh ground. Carrie had shown her the small claw prints that showed her the hole was still occupied. She had looked down the dark hole, but seen nothing. Not surprisingly, of course, what pokémon would be as stupid as to come outside and look at the big beasts that had come thumping towards the entrance? Not even a plain Rattata would be that stupid.

They continued, Carrie pointing out more Rattata holes along the way, and Amy could swear she saw purple tails disappear through the grass now and then. Her mother had often called them rodents, which basically they were. Whenever _she_ saw a purple tail she'd shriek and call for father.

They'd eat their food, when they could; chewing through anything they set their teeth to. Amy had started to seen them as worthless pests until Derek brought his new temporary partner with him. They were often considered as weak and useless, but she had learned to respect them. They were cute.

"Look, Amy, trainers."

That statement was enough to make Amy break that strain of thought. Her head shot up and she looked over the grass to see what Carrie was talking about. Three young boys stood near road-sign, chatting avidly about something or another. One of them seemed to be telling a story and the others laughed, though at what Amy didn't know.

"They look like bug catchers."

"Bug catchers?"

"Trainers who catch bugs the old fashioned way, with nets and such. They then use a pokéball. It's quite common around these parts. Not all trainers can afford or want to journey across Johto. Plus, not all are old enough to start a journey yet. These boys just enjoy battling and raising bug pokémon."

Amy nodded, following Carrie as she moved towards them. Perhaps she should challenge one of these boys? She hadn't had a proper battle yet. The only battle she had had was with Weedle, it would be exciting to go through her first trainer battle.

The boys looked up as they left the grass, setting foot on the dusty road. One of them whispered something to the other boys and they nodded.

"Hello," Carrie started, smiling kindly, "looking for bugs?"

"Yes, there aren't many here, though. We find them up the road. Are you trainers?"

"Technically, I am, but I'm more of a researcher. You'll have to ask my friend Amy here if you're interested in a battle."

Amy blushed as the three boys looked at her. They seemed younger than she was, about nine or ten. They probably had more experience with training pokémon, though.

"Do you have any bug pokémon?" the boy asked, a hint of interest in his eyes.

"I have a Weedle," Amy answered, seeing the face of the boy lighten up at that notion.

"Ah, cool, I do too. Want to battle?"


	7. Bugged By Others

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, I just own Amy and the other things I made up.  
This chapter was not beta'd and will contain errors, I just need to get it out of my system.

* * *

Amy looked at the boy in front of her. He just stood there, an air of certainty surrounding him. He seemed used to it all, and why wouldn't he be. They must have a close-knit group of trainers, battling daily and constantly practicing the art of being a trainer. If you could call it an art, anyhow. She could imagine that they would wait here, at the side of the road, hoping for new trainers to pass by with weak pokémon.

It was quite clever, actually. By staying here they could train their pokémon without any problems. They could keep away from the stronger pokémon that would have a field-day attacking their somewhat inexperienced pokémon, yet train and battle with those they might be able to beat. Amy knew that Weedle would probably classify as such, but pushed it back. No use thinking about that now.

"You ready?"

One of the boys was looking at her expectantly. He would act as a referee, they had decided this beforehand, and had explained the rules to her. Of course she already knew most of the rules, but it was good to be reminded of them.

"Yes, of course," she replied, taking out Weedle's Pokéball. This would be their very first battle, how exciting.

"You can go first, if you want," her opponent said, looking somewhat bored with it all.

Amy could not imagine being bored about pokémon battles – perhaps that was merely due to no change in scenery for the boy –as she was thrilled and filled with nerves. This boy, though, looked like he was contemplating what to eat tonight, or something just as dull, instead of focusing on his upcoming battle. However, that could also be a battle strategy. It wouldn't surprise her if it was.

"Ok, sure," she muttered, pressing the button on her pokéball, "Weedle, go for it!"

The thrill of seeing her own pokémon appear, no matter how small it was, and prepare for their first battle was amazing. It wouldn't matter if they won or lost, it would just be practice, training. It would allow her to gain confidence, get used to the hectic of battle. It would also give her pokémon time to get used to her. Besides, they weren't at Falkner's gym yet and would not have to fight him. She should enjoy this and learn from it. Yet deep down she felt that this was her first real test.

Her opponent's Weedle appeared as well. It was somewhat bigger than hers, and seemed level eyed and ready. Experienced, that's what he looked like. Amy swallowed, eying her small Weedle sniff the area with interest. This would be interesting.

"Alright, Amy you can start, Robin will react to your command and the battle will begin. Are both trainers ready?"

The referee seemed professional about it, as if he felt important now. Amy shrugged, not caring if he wanted to be like that. It did add to the serious air of it all, which was good, but this was not a gym match, or one she'd seen on the television. Nervously she rubbed her sweaty hands on her pants, looking at Carrie for reassurance. The woman gave her a curt nod and motioned towards the battle field. She had to focus.

Of course she knew what to do, and what was expected of her, but actually performing was more difficult than she had ever imagined. She'd seen many a battle, and had practiced with her brother, but the real thing was much more difficult. In her imagination she was calm, collected, and ready for everything, but now as she stood here she felt butterflies in her stomach and her hands shake.

"Yep, ready," her opponent said.

He was looking at her with mild curiosity, as if he could smell she was uncomfortable. Better not make him think she was incompetent. Had Carrie told him this was her first real battle? She couldn't remember. In fact, she could remember very little from what Derek had told her about battles. What were Weedle's attacks again?

"I'm ready too," she said, noticing a slight waver in her voice.

Derek had enacted many a battle with her, even with real pokémon, but this boy would not take pity on her. This was for real. Damn, she was nervous.

"Alright, Weedle, string shot!"

Her small Weedle immediately responded, eager to battle. He was quite unlike Toto, much more focused. Toto would probably have looked at her with annoyance and walked off to bang his tail – or head, if she was lucky - against some trees. Alright, perhaps that was exaggerating; he had seemed to enjoy his fight with Weedle, after all.

She watched as he shot thin strings of sticky fiber at his opponent. She didn't quite catch her opponent's command, so focused as she was on her own pokémon. Strings shot through the air and caught Weedle's, head on. Before Amy knew what was happening, the other Weedle pulled back hard, causing Weedle to slide forward. His short legs dug into the ground and he attempted to pull back, hanging onto the short end of his string shot.

Amy had never considered that you could use string shot like this. It was not a shot now, but something a spider would use to spin a web. Quite ingenious.

"Now! Let go!"

She heard the command and was about to warn her pokémon when Weedle shot back, covered in sticky string shot as he landed on the ground. Annoyed, the small pokémon tried to free itself of its own attack, but to no avail. It was well and truly stuck, and Amy cried out as the other Weedle charged forward, aiming its stinger at the helpless Weedle. She looked away as her opponent's pokémon plunged head first into her poor pokémon.

As she dared looking again she saw with amusement that, while her Weedle was hurt, the other pokémon had not come out unharmed. His stinger was stuck too, and a thin string had encircled the pokémon's neck, keeping him from moving.

"Weedle, poison sting!" she commanded, watching in fascination as the other weedle tried to pull back with all its might. Weedle caught him, though, and while still covered in all things sticky, he bumped his head against the other.

It seemed to hurt the little Weedle, but the bump also freed him from the string. Bad luck, but she had to work with it. Bad luck was part of pokémon battles, just like luck was. Whether or not it was in her favour, it would always be there. That was life, and life had funny quirks. Like getting stuck in string shot, really. She'd gotten stuck herself too, perhaps not literally, by what she'd said or things she'd done. Life turned in many ways, and every turn had a beginning and end. No matter how life pushed you into one direction, you always had an opening to escape. If only she could think of one now.

Weedle was desperately trying to climb through the strings, but there was no way he'd succeed. This was obviously a trick the boy had used more often, and it was successful. Again she heard the command to use a poison sting on her pokémon, and all she could do was watch idly as the sharp stinger of her opponent's pokémon embedded itself in Weedle's sensitive skin.

The battle was over, she knew, as she watched her pokémon's body wriggle for a bit and then fall down, not moving. Robin cheered for a moment, but then took out small scissors and walked towards the bundle of pokémon and sticky stuff. With ease and practice he cut through the strings, freeing her pokémon. It was obvious that he'd done this before.

It was rather nice of him to do such a thing, but Amy felt that she had to be the one to free her pokémon. It was her fault he got stuck, she'd made the mistake. Of course this trainer had tricks prepared; she should have guessed he was up to something. Up to this.

"Thanks," she muttered, returning Weedle to his pokéball. She looked at it, wondering if Weedle would resent her for this defeat. It had been his first battle after all, and he had lost. She felt the loss sting – no pun intended – but for him it must be even worse.

"You did great."

Carrie, trying to comfort her. Amy gave a shrug, unsure what to say. The older woman gave her a well-meant hug and she felt somewhat better. All begin was difficult, right? There was no good in mourning this loss and feel down the entire trip. She would lose more often, and perhaps win now and then. Derek had warned her about it. He thought she'd be home soon, that she wouldn't be able to cope. Perhaps he was right, but she wouldn't give up just yet. She had to prove herself she was capable.

She'd already accomplished something. Never had she been out so far, she had seen past Weedle's exterior and had overcome her fear of bug pokémon. And, she was sure, one day she'd be able to control Toto, whether he wanted to or not.

"Thanks, Carrie," she said, giving the woman a weak smile.

Robin and his friends walked towards them, and Amy realised he would want some money. It was odd how that worked. She had never realised that such things were a part of being a trainer. You needed money, and to get it you needed strong pokémon. And for strong pokémon you needed money, so you could heal their every illness. It was a never-ending circle. It would go on and on.

The boy looked pleased with himself when he received his money, and Amy resented him for it. A pout was permanently fixed on her face as she ignored the boys and continued down the path. Behind her Carrie gave the boys an apologetic shrug and hurried after her, as fast as her chubby legs could carry her.


	8. Fleeting Chances

The two travellers sat side by side as they quietly devoured their sandwiches. Carrie had made them, and while Amy worried about her dirty hands touching the food, she had been too hungry to resist. Constant walking left a person hungry, and Amy especially. She wasn't used to such extensive walking, every new turn draining more of her strength. Carrie, on the other hand, remained upbeat and cheerful, trudging along like it was nothing. Amy had to admit she envied her friend greatly.

It was almost midday, and where her first days had been cloudy and filled with rain, so far this day had given her nothing but sunshine. They'd made good time, but now as they sat here they could finally relaxed in the pleasant warmth of the sun.

Not all liked the change in weather, however. Totodile, having been released from his pokéball, sat sulking in the shadows of a small tree. Amy had expected nothing less. He hadn't much liked the transformation from watery roads to cough-inducing dust, so Amy had just left him to it. Nothing she said would make a difference, and this way he didn't spoil her good mood.

"How far are we from Violet City?" Amy asked, munching happily on what she considered to be an excellent meal, even though Carrie had prepared it. The woman had proven to be quite a pleasant companion; showing her things she had never seen, giving her invaluable advice, and most importantly, teaching her how to deal with being out in the wild.

Not that there was much wilderness around these parts. Most forests they walked through were fairly close to cities or towns, small outposts springing up everywhere to accommodate the trainers travelling through. They had stayed at such an outpost the night before, Carrie insisting she pay for both their stay. The map Amy carried was grossly inaccurate, she'd realised, only pointing out towns that had a gym, or cities of significant importance. An importance she had yet to find out about, but important enough nonetheless. Why else would they be listed, while other towns weren't?

"I'd say we should be there by nightfall, if we keep up this pace. If not, then we have our tents," Carrie answered brightly, patting the heavy rucksack she wore on her back. Amy's bag was much smaller, for she only carried their cooking supplies. "We might want to make a stop at Mister Pokémon's house, though. He is a famed researcher and I'd much like to meet him."

Amy nodded, the thought of meeting someone famous not something she minded. Besides, it seemed Carrie really wanted to meet this man, so she figured they could spare the time. There was no rush, she'd been told over and over, nor a timetable by which she had to abide. Taking the time to meet a man like Mister Pokémon was definitely worth it, if only for the joy it seemed to bring the woman who had been so kind to her over the last few days.

"Are you feeling homesick yet?"

She looked up, the kind smile on Carrie's face telling her that maybe she hadn't been as good at hiding her loneliness as she thought she'd been. The last couple of days had been thrilling, and Carrie's presence heart-warming, but she missed the comforts of home and her brother's reassuring presence. She had yet to call him, as well, which was another reason she was glad to hear they were near their destination.

"A little," she answered truthfully, swallowing the last bit of her sandwich and wiping her hands on her pants. They'd gotten quite dirty, especially by sitting on the ground as they were doing now, and suddenly Amy understood why Carrie had been so filthy the first time they'd met.

"Well, once we've reached Violet City, you can call home. I'm sure they miss you."

Again she nodded, not trusting her voice. Thinking about home was hard, because while she wouldn't miss this for the world, she wished she could have combined it with being around her parents.

"Well, then," Carrie murmured, getting to her feet. "If we want to meet Mister Pokémon iand/i get to Violet City in time, then we better get going."

The thought cheered Amy up a bit, and she quickly returned Totodile and Weedle – who'd been rummaging through the leaves not far away – to their pokéballs. They, as was she, were gradually becoming used to their routine. While Amy would sometimes brave her fear of bugs and allow Weedle to sit on her shoulder, the two pokémon mostly remained in their pokéballs, allowing her to focus on other things than Toto's annoying habits, or Weedle's sticky feet.

Listening to Carrie huff as she hoisted her bag on her shoulder, Amy felt guilty, but it was soon replaced by excitement as the path in front of them disappeared into the grass. Carrie too seemed to be in her element, as she pushed through the tangle of vines and proceeded to lead the way.

It was a definite case of one foot in front of the other as they made their way through the long stretches of green. Here and there they heard the by now familiar rustles of Pokémon nearby, a flash of purple here and there confirming the ever-present presence of rattata. Amy had given up on catching any of the critters a long time ago. The pokémon had holes everywhere, and they were often down one before Amy had even had the chance to grab a pokéball. It was frustrating, but Carrie assured her that there were rattata everywhere and she'd get a chance at catching one some other time.

Even so, Amy still watched their every move, the sight of large teeth more exciting than it should be. At the same time, she could see the beady eyes of weedle stare at her from the trees. There were a lot of them, watching their every move, and again Carrie explained something invaluable to her. If you see weedle, then there'll be kakuna, and if there are kakuna, then you better not get near. Because if there's anything trainers have to know, then it's to stay far, far away from anything that evolves into the fearsome bug known as beedrill.

"Amy, look!"

So absorbed in her own thoughts, Amy hadn't realised Carrie had come to a halt. The older woman was pointing at something, standing absolutely still. Amy turned her head cautiously, not sure whether to be afraid or interested. Thinking of beedrill had reminded her how dangerous the pokémon world could be, and she was not in the mood to run for her life.

Instead she was pleasantly surprised by the sight of a small pokémon on a rock, happily relaxing in the sun. Its large eyes were closed, though the black antennas on its head swivelled around at every sound. Amy tried counting how many legs it had, but some were tucked underneath the shiny red body. She guessed that it had six, but couldn't be sure.

"Check your pokédex," Carrie whispered as Amy shot her a questioning look. Doing just that, Amy flinched at the loud metallic voice that broke through the silence. The pokémon didn't move, though, just remained where it was.

iLedyba; When the weather turns cold, lots of ledyba gather from everywhere to cluster and keep each other warm./i

This was a pokémon Amy had never seen before, or even heard of, which she found to be very exciting. It was one thing to come across rattata and pidgey, creatures she had seen countless of times before, but coming across this ledyba made her realize that she wasn't home anymore. And while that was scary, she also couldn't wait to tell Derek.

"They're not often out alone, so there might be others around," Carrie remarked, looking quite pleased at the sight of this small pokémon. Glancing over, Amy wasn't sure what to do. Should she try and catch it, or just let it be? It looked relaxed, a ghost of a smile on its face, making Amy unsure what to do.

"Go on, try and catch it."

Carrie's urging caused her to grab Totodile's pokéball. Very carefully, she released the pokémon, flinching at the immediate onslaught of sound. Obviously Toto couldn't help himself, and the happy squawking – while usually rather endearing – startled the nearby ledyba. Before Amy even had the chance to shout a command, the bug pokémon opened its wings and took off. Hovering momentarily, it seemed to look down at them, before taking off. Two, three, four others soon followed, appearing from all sorts of places and then disappearing through the trees.

Amy stood defeated, trying not to feel annoyed with the pokémon currently pulling at some nearby plants. She knew Toto had meant no harm, but still she felt like she'd failed.

"Aw, that's a pity," Carrie commented, shrugging her shoulders as she looked into the distance. She noticed Amy's crestfallen expression, for she walked over and patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Amy. Those things happen a lot. For every pokémon you catch, ten escape your grasp. If you're lucky, you'll find one that iwants/i to fight you, and those are the best to catch."

"I guess so."

"Don't beat yourself up over it, you'll get your chance."

Returning Totodile to his pokéball – the pokémon had made short work of some of the plants they'd been standing next to, crushing them under his feet and tail in a very destructive fashion – Amy tried to take her advice, though for the next couple of minutes she felt very disheartened. Luckily the constant presence of rattata flitting past, attracting her attention, distracted the young girl, and she soon found herself feeling much better. It seemed that ledyba were like rattata in that regard – or like most pokémon, she mused – and she'd get her chance to try and catch one again. She just had to be patient.

-

The rest of the walk included much of the same, and while the occasional presence of pidgey, rattata and weedle kept her on her toes, Amy could feel her interest waning. Her legs were slowly growing accustomed to the endless walking, but her mind wasn't, and Carrie seemed to notice that.

"You know, being a trainer is all about the travelling. You'll have to get used to this. Just look at how beautiful everything is, Amy. Nature is a wonderful distraction when you get bored."

Amy didn't have the heart to disagree with her, even if Carrie's love for things green was vastly beyond anything Amy cared for. So she smiled, taking in the thinning grass. They'd been ploughing through for almost two hours now, and it finally seemed that the terrain was changing. While earlier there'd only been trees strung along their route sparingly, up ahead she could see that the forest was getting denser. Everywhere she looked, trees blocked her view, and the thought of new pokémon excited her. Even if the warning Carrie had given her – where there were trees, beedrill were never far off – worried her as well.

They decided to take a short break once they got to the edge of the forest. A small path to their left showed where to go, and they sat down next to it. Amy gulped down some water, the way the sun was burning down on them not so pleasant now. It wasn't as bad as it could be in the summer, but combined with the long walks, it was sure to put someone off.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do once you get to Violet City? You said you wanted to challenge Falkner?" Carrie sat leaning against a tree.

Considering that, Amy looked ahead at the way the path was winding through the trees. The obvious choice was to challenge Violet City's gym-leader, so that was what her first idea had been. What else did you do, but go and find the nearest gym?

"I figured I would, yeah."

Carrie nodded. "Well, in that case, have you considered what your game-plan is? I happen to know he uses two flying pokémon, so you're bound to get in trouble if you use your weedle."

Amy hadn't thought of that. She'd been so very proud to have caught another pokémon, but having two pokémon didn't necessarily mean that things were going to be easier. Carrie was right, using a bug pokémon to beat a flying type was never smart strategy, and she had no illusions about the way that battle was going to end.

When Amy didn't reply, Carrie spoke up again. "You know, you'd be best off waiting until you've caught another pokémon. There are some great bellsprout that live in Violet City, so it's unfortunate that they won't help you much, but I've heard you can also find gastly in the nearby Sprout Tower. You might find its hypnosis useful."

That thought cheered her up slightly, because even though she hadn't really heard about gastly before, the name still sounded fearsome and that was exactly what she needed to beat Falkner in her first gym battle. Still, that plan meant she'd have to catch one, and that was exactly what had upset her before. Thinking about it was nice, but actually doing it was another matter entirely.

"Come on, we better get a move on," Carrie said, though Amy wanted nothing more than to stay where she was just a little longer. It wasn't comfortable, but at least it didn't include walking. She said nothing, however, the thought of her brother taunting her not a pleasant one. So she followed diligently, listening to Carrie's chatter and trying to remember whatever tips she gave.

Eventually, after yet another hour of trudging along, the road that had been so small and seemingly meaningless, broadened. The trees parted and Amy could see a small house, situated near a fork on the road.

"Is that Mister Pokémon's house?" Amy asked, but Carrie shook her head.

"No, that's further still. Don't worry, we're not far now."

So Amy followed again, passing the house – smoke twirled upwards from the chimney, and Amy regretted not being able to go inside the house and wind down – and taking the path that ran to its right. Carrie seemed to be quite sure where she was going, and not long after, Amy spotted the contours of yet another house, this one bigger than the first, though the trees.

Carrie seemed very excited by the looks of things, for she stepped up the pace and Amy had trouble keeping up. The older woman nearly ran the remaining distance, much faster than Amy had ever seen her walk, and by the time she had finally reached the house, Carrie had already knocked and was waiting impatiently.

Puffing slightly from the run, Amy leaned against the side of the house, trying to catch her breath. Inside she could hear movement and a voice talking, then the door opened with much creaking, leaving her to wonder how old this cottage was.

"Yes?"

An old man stood before them, hair unkempt and small glances dangling precariously on his nose. He looked the picture of a pokémon professor, lab coat smudged and hands fiddling with something even as he greeted them at the door. She couldn't quite see what he was holding, but she figured it had to be something important, for he wasn't letting go.

"Mister Pokémon, it is such a pleasure to meet you!" Carrie exclaimed, a blush of excitement on her cheeks. Whereas Amy couldn't see what was so special about this man, Carrie seemed to be quite taken with him, and the moment the older woman declared she was a pokémon researcher, the both of them were ushered in.

"Pokémon researchers, eh? Oh, wonderful, wonderful! I have made such interesting discoveries lately, you wouldn't believe! Only yesterday did I come to the conclusion that lanturn, mareep and marill have to be somewhat related. You see they have this distinctive feature that is just too similar not to mean something."

Amy didn't bother telling the man that she wasn't a researcher, for his ongoing chatter prevented her from doing so. As she listened to him, a growing feeling of confusion told her that this man might be considered a genius, but he wasn't exactly smart. In fact, he seemed to come up with more and more unlikely theories about pokémon, one more crazy than the next, and Amy couldn't believe Carrie was still listening to him with a revering look on her face.


	9. Pitch Black

* * *

**Disclaimer**: I do not own pokémon or any of its related enterprises. They are the property of their respective owners

* * *

Soft talking could be heard from the other room. Amy sat quietly, watching Totodile and Weedle munch on the pokéfood she'd given them. Carrie and Mister Pokémon, both clearly happy to see each other, had retreated to the back room and had been busy talking non-stop since then. At first Amy had tried to listen, but after half an hour of soil sample discussion, as well as Mister Pokémon sharing information she knew to be false, she had given up and returned to her seat on the couch.

They'd been at it for almost three hours, and Amy could see that it was getting darker out. Soon, she knew, it'd be too dark to travel, and she didn't much like the thought of being stuck with the two of them for an entire evening.

At the same time, though, she didn't feel she could interrupt them. Not only had Carrie been in invaluable help to her, but they were much older than her, and she had no doubt that asking them to stop what they were doing was considered extremely rude. So she waited, keeping a close eye on Toto so he wouldn't wreck anything, and just leafing through the pokémon guide Carrie had lent her.

Violet City had been described in there as well, and the story of Sprout Tower had made her very curious to see it. Carrie had mentioned earlier, during one of her passionate talks about grass-pokémon , that it had been made in the image of a bellsprout, and now she knew why. According to the book, bellsprout embodied both sturdiness and the ability to adapt. They remained rooted firmly in the ground, but their agile bodies also allowed them to twist and turn out of the way. Amy couldn't wait to see and feel the rocking of the Tower that showed that.

"Perhaps we can catch a bellsprout when we're there, Weedle," Amy murmured, awkwardly trying to pet the pokémon's head without touching the poisonous barb that was there. It was sad that a pokémon like Weedle, very affectionate and quiet, simply wasn't made for too much comforting.

The small bug pokémon just looked at her, eyes blinking like it was trying to understand what she was saying. Amy sighed, adding some more pokéfood to the bowl to keep Toto occupied. Who knew what the lizard was going to do once it ran out. Mister Pokémon wouldn't appreciate his furniture being chewed on, she was sure.

Looking outside, catching the red glow that the lowering sun was casting over the forest, Amy wished they could have been in the pokémon centre already. While it was an event in itself to see the closing of a day through thick leaves, the thought of spending it on the forest floor or among her chattering companions left her wanting to leave straight away. But, instead, she waited.

Another half an hour later Carrie stumbled through the door, face red and excited, eyes sparkling like she'd just caught a legendary pokémon. At least it looked like she had enjoyed herself.

"Oh, my, Amy, look at the time!" Carrie shrieked as she looked outside. Amy didn't bother to comment. "Mister Pokémon and I just had such a wonderful conversation about the gender differences among vileplume. Did you know the spots on their petals show whether it's male or female? So very interesting."

Giving a weak smile, Amy starting packing her things. Stuffing the remaining pokéfood in her bag, she tried not to notice how quiet it had gotten outside, and how dark the path looked. She had never been all too keen on the dark of night, and the thought of walking among feral pokémon – able to strike without her even noticing – left her staying very close to Carrie.

The woman must have noticed her concerned hovering, for she smiled reassuringly and grabbed a pokéball Amy hadn't even seen before. Of course she'd figured Carrie must own pokémon, but the thought of the cheerful researcher engaging in battle seemed ludicrous.

"Don't you worry, Amy. It may be dark out, but I have just the pokémon to help us with that."

As Mister Pokémon watched in the background, looking just as tired as Amy felt, Carrie released her pokémon.

Its cry sounded familiar to Amy, having heard it before on the TV in countless a pokémon battle. Its red skin was barely noticeable in the dark, clear eyes peering at them and seemingly hovering in mid-air. A flame, crackling whenever the pokémon moved, changed that, and Amy found herself face to face with a striking looking charmeleon.

"Amy, meet Torch."

Receiving a haughty nod from the fire pokémon, Amy simply nodded back, too stunned to say much. This was something she hadn't expected. With Carrie's love for grass pokémon, she had assumed she'd own nothing but. Charmeleon, with its wicked ways and blazing firepower, did not fit the bill.

"Torch was my starter pokémon. Only later in life did I realize I wasn't meant to deal with the hot and heavy types. Torch keeps everyone in line, though," Carrie explained, glancing down at her pokémon with affection. It was clear she cared for him, but it also reminded Amy of how important first choices are. What if, years from now, she found out that Totodile hadn't been the right pokémon for her?

"We better get going. It's looking awfully dark out. Torch, light the way, please?"

The pokémon did as asked, tail swung forward to break through the black. It almost looked like the charmeleon was a guide, steering lost travellers away from peril. Only, this guide didn't know where the road was, and neither did Carrie.

"I have to admit, it's been a while since I last travelled these paths," Carrie muttered, peering into the darkness but clearly uncertain about where they should go. "Violet City is to the North, I know that much, so we should probably just head that way."

Amy, having been quiet the entire time, agreed quickly, simply wanting to get out of there. She hated the thought of a stray kakuna ending up falling on her head, or getting tangled in ariados' web. Either way, the end-result would be much stinging and lots of pain.

So she followed obediently, limbs tired and eyes straining to see anything beyond Torch's flame. The thought of travelling, when she'd been back at home, had been much more glamorous than this, and Amy wished they were at the pokémon centre already. Nothing could interest her more, right now, than the sight of a welcoming centre filled with comfy beds and hot stew. Instead, though, the forest around them seemed to vibrate, every call and murmur causing Amy to walk closer and closer to Torch and his firepower.

Here and there, she could hear pokémon move. Rustling, coming from the bushes and up in the trees, betrayed their presence even as they tried to sneak up on them. A howl, luckily far, far away, sent a chill up her spine. No, walking around at night was not her thing.

In front of her, Torch paused, and the lizard pokémon huffed once, then twice, until Amy finally saw what he was so concerned with. Two spinarak, dangling precariously on a thin string of web, stared at them. Their long limbs moved, creating a rippling effect, and the patches of yellow on the creature's body stood out in Torch's light.

Convinced she should start to act like a pokémon trainer and not some frightened girl – which, of course, she was – Amy grabbed her pokédex, listening intently to the voice she was slowly getting used to.

Spinarak: The web spun by spinarak can be considered its second nervous system. It is said that this Pokémon can determine what kind of prey is touching its web just by the tiny vibrations it feels through the web's strands.

She knew spinarak, of course, had been told bedside stories about being stalked by them at night. Especially the story of Tommy, stuck in a spinarak's web because he'd been too hasty, had stuck with her though the years. Which might explain why she didn't feel the need to inch in like Carrie was doing.

"Oh, spinarak. They come out at night, you know." Carrie seemed to be talking to herself more than anything. "But of course, that much is clear."

The spinarak didn't move, just stared at them with unblinking eyes. Torch was getting agitated, the flame on his tail growing slightly bigger as he eyed the two small pokémon angrily. Carrie didn't seem to notice, instead motioned for Amy to come closer.

"See the patterns on their back? These two are relaxed, you can see it, can't you?"

Amy just nodded, too scared to get anywhere near them. The two bug pokémon did look calm, but inquisitive at the same time. It should have endeared the pokémon to her, but instead she saw the way their hairy legs cast shadows against the tree next to them, creating images of monsters looming overhead. Too many tales had been told, too many evenings of hurrying home so she wouldn't be out after dark.

"Can we go, please?" Amy asked timidly, edging around the duo to where Torch was now standing. Apparently he too had had enough and was now grumbling softly, a sound that did nothing but add to the bad atmosphere. Carrie seemed enthralled by them, but eventually she too left the spinarak behind. Amy stayed even closer to Torch now, convinced the charmeleon knew much more about which pokémon to avoid than Carrie did.

"Why didn't you catch one?" the older woman asked, way too cheery for such a gloomy night. Amy just shrugged, mumbling about already owning a bug pokémon, and luckily her companion dropped the subject. The look she was being given, even clear in the dark, spoke of slight annoyance, but Carrie seemed to remind herself that Amy was just a kid, and they continued in silence.

They walked until it was close to midnight, Torch's flame dwindling down until he could barely keep it up. Carrie kept repeating that they must be close, but no matter how hard she tried to peer through the darkness, Amy couldn't see the lights of Violet City.

Even worse, suddenly Torch stopped. At first she thought the pokémon might have fainted from the strain; keeping a flame burning for several hours hard on anyone, but it turned out something else was keeping them from moving.

Small trees, standing so close together it looked like a great wall had risen up before them. Torch moved, but no matter where he went, there was no way through. Their way was obstructed by an impenetrable forest, and there was no way around.

They stood there, gazing at the way the path suddenly stopped, for quite a while, until Carrie gathered her good spirits – as she had a habit of doing, something that suddenly annoyed Amy to no end – and started pitching their tent. Amy, squelching the urge to sulk, joined her not long after, agreeing with her unspoken decision that going on had no use.

It was difficult to fasten everything the way it was supposed to, even with Torch valiantly trying to give them as much light as possible. Twice Amy hit herself in the thumb, three times she felt the canvas slip through her fingers, and she even had to suffer the indignation of realizing that she had lost two of the pens. Carrie found them a short while afterwards, lying discarded on the forest floor.

Half an hour, and much swearing later, Amy had curled in her sleeping bag, listening to soft snoring next to her. Outside the wind had picked up a bit, slapping branches against the tent occasionally. Howls, too, of pokémon she didn't want to meet, and twice she had sat up straight as a shadow passed her tent.

Amy doubted she was going to get much sleep tonight.

-

The next morning, Amy awoke feeling just as tired as when she'd gone to sleep. Muscles ached, not used to spending that much time on the ground, and she felt filthy from all the dust that now clung to her. Rising slowly, trying not to trip on her sleeping bag, Amy glanced around the small tent to find Carrie and her bags gone.

Yawning, Amy considered returning to the comfortable warmth of her sleeping bag for just a while longer, but even the morning chill couldn't keep her from peering through the tent opening to see what kind of day it was.

Bright and sunny, she saw, rays of sunlight valiantly battling through flimsy white clouds, the sky stark blue. The way it looked now, today was going to be much better, and Amy already looked forward to it. The woods would be much more interesting, now that she could actually see where she was going.

Carrie was already rummaging around outside, keeping one eye on the small fire she had prodded into action, and her pokémon enjoying breakfast nearby. Amy hadn't seen any of her friend's pokémon yet, save Torch, but it came as no surprise that two were oddish – looking as tired as she did, no doubt still coming to grips with the change in routine – and one was a bellsprout. One other creature Amy didn't recognize, though, and she grabbed her pokédex – fumbling about a bit until she'd located it in her backpack – and aimed it at the small brown pokémon.

Seedot: Seedot attaches itself to a tree branch using the top of its head. It sucks moisture from the tree while hanging off the branch. The more water it drinks, the glossier this Pokémon's body becomes.

She'd never heard of the pokémon before, but according to the pokédex – which she was finally beginning to master – it was native to the Hoenn region. Not something you would find around these parts, then, and Amy was curious to find out how Carrie had caught the little thing.

Amy watched a little while longer, listening to the pleasant humming that she'd gotten accustomed to. Carrie was a definite morning person, rising with the first hint of sun like a flower blooming in spring. Her oddish, preferring to roam around at night and hide during the next day, seemed to be the exact opposite, but somehow it fit.

Torch, on the other hand, had grabbed his bowl of pokémon food and had retreated to a spot in the shade. Leaning against a tree, the charmeleon gnawed on his food like he hadn't been fed in weeks, but still keeping an eye on Carrie at all times. It was curious, to see a pokémon so wrong for a trainer seem to right.

"Ah, good morning, Amy!"

Blinking, Amy turned to find Carrie beaming down on her. Apparently last night's problems had been forgotten now that the sun had come out and the trees were green again.

"Good morning," Amy responded, dusting off her knees as she crawled out the tent. It was still very early, she noticed, dew sparkling on some choice leaves here and there. Most of it had been lost, though, to the sun's mighty glare.

"We don't have any bread left, unless you like the moldy kind, but I made us some soup," Carrie proclaimed proudly. Amy nodded gratefully, sitting down near the fire and accepting a bowl. She was quite hungry, not having eaten the night before, and she could use a hearty meal. Soup or not, it would do, and she really liked the smell.

They chatted amicably while they ate, Amy feeling much better after realizing Carrie wasn't mad at her. She apologized, still, but Carrie waved it off and launched into another wonderful tale about her journeys. It was nice, Amy mused, to be sitting here and be able to relax. This was what she'd thought her journey would be like, lounging in the sun with friends near and a pokémon at her side. Only, Totodile seemed more intent on hitting the trees they'd run into the night before, rather than spend time with his trainer. Amy didn't let it dampen her mood.

"Are you ready for Violet City?"

She nodded, slurping down the remainder of her soup. It had taken them a while to get there, but she couldn't wait to see the Sprout Tower she'd heard so much about. Not surprisingly, Carrie spoke of it with much fondness, and it had made Amy intent to find out what it was like.

"I checked around a bit, and if you look closely you can see a path on the other side of these trees. That should be the right path," Carrie continued, motioning towards the wall of wood.

Amy squinted, trying to find a spot where the trees weren't so close together. When she found one, she realized Carrie was right, dark sand on the other side looking more manmade than it was supposed to.

"How are we going to get there, though? Will we head back?" she asked quizzically, not liking the thought of having to go back the way they came. Surely, paths should not lead to a dead-end.

"Not to worry, I have just the thing! Let's first get everything cleaned up. You don't want to know what damage a bit of plastic can do."

Following Carrie's lead, Amy gathered the two tin cans the soup had come from and put them in the leather bag her companion always carried. Amy didn't want to know what rubbish the woman had collected, but it sure smelled vile. Then the two took to taking down the tent, which was surprisingly easy now they could see what they were doing. Already Amy feared the thought of journeying without it, for that would be reality should the two separate.

Once everything was packed and accounted for, both Carrie and Amy returned their pokémon to their pokéballs. Only bellsprout remained out, and Amy watched in fascination as the small thing waddled over to the trees up ahead.

"Now, watch this," Carrie murmured, grinning at the curious expression on the girl's face. "Bellybutton, use Cut!

It all happened so fast that Amy almost missed it. The bellsprout, not appearing strong at all, whipped its leaves around and with a hiss cut right through one of the trees. The tree seemed to object violently, a loud creaking sound sounding almost like a cry of pain, and then it broke in two, pieces of wood everywhere.

"I hate doing that." Carrie sighed. "But it was necessary. Come on, let's go find Violet City."

An excited bounce in her step, Amy hopped over the poor tree and headed north. Today she was finally going to reach Violet City.

-

All in all, it took much longer than Amy had expected. Carrie had assured her that they were close, and the road-signs seemed to indicate so as well, but almost an hour into their walk, there still was no sign of Violet City. The path twisted and turned, leading them through grass and trees, and while the trip was pleasant, Amy was still frustrated that it was taking so long.

Once or twice, Amy had heard the buzzing of a beedrill, or the excited cries of a pidgey, but there had been no clear signs of pokémon, almost as if they too were out to annoy her. Carrie, on the other hand, remained as positive as always, and pointed out various places to find useful berries. She'd given them all to Amy, who held her berry bag – a small leather pouch – tightly, convinced the woman was going to find more.

So far two oran berries, one chesto berry, and a cheri berry that looked good enough to eat, had been found and treasured. Having seen Amy's hungry stare, Carrie warned against eating the small thing and instead gave the young trainer a bag of sweets.

At one point the path took a sharp turn to the right, leading the two through some thick grass and towards the entrance of a dark looking cave. It was the first thing Amy had seen that wasn't covered in green leaves, but it didn't look very inviting either. They lingered near the entrance for a bit, but decided against rash actions. It was doubtful that Torch would appreciate being used as a flashlight once again, and according to the road signs, Violet was to west of them. Interesting cave or not, Amy really just wanted to get to Violet City now.

They followed the path again, dust clinging to their shoes as they walked, even the fresh sight of water not relieving them of the burning sun. Fishermen waved at them as they passed the small lake, leaving it behind without a care.

"You should get yourself a rod, you know. It's the best way to catch water pokémon," Carrie advised, but Amy was too excited to listen. She'd spotted a building up ahead and hastened her pace. Finally, she'd reach Violet City. It had taken way too long.

They had to turn left and right repeatedly before getting to the building, its base covered in beautiful flowers of all kinds. It was no wonder that the city was famous for its scent, for even this guardhouse at its edge smelled delicious. This time Amy couldn't blame Carrie for fawning over the gorgeous plants, and while she was excited to finally see the grand Violet City, she also couldn't help but stare with admiration at the view before her.

"How very beautiful," Amy whispered, touching the delicate petals of a small, white flower in front of her. Carrie smiled, doing the same, and they stood there, gawking, until they heard footsteps close in from behind.

A boy, about Amy's age, with a bouncing chikorita at his side. It was clear to Amy that this boy had to be a beginning trainer as well, his tired face and dirty clothes a testament to having spend time out in the wild. Not being used to such hardships took a lot out of a person.

They looked at each other for a second, but the trainer pushed his thin classes back and entered the building, showing no interest at all for the flowers or Amy. It was probably for the best, Toto would be at a distinct disadvantage should they fight, and Weedle's last battle had been a disaster. This wasn't the time to pick a fight.

"Come, let's go in as well," Carrie suggested, walking through the whooshing door of the sentry house. Grinning, Amy hoisted her bag higher on her back, then walked through the gate to Violet City.

The first glimpse Amy got of Violet City was astounding. It being the second largest city in Johto, she had expected quite a bit, but nothing had prepared her for the bustling place that was 'the city of nostalgic scents'.

Trainers walked to and fro, most young like her, but some older ones as well. Pokémon were everywhere, riding their trainer's shoulder, or bouncing around proudly at their feet. It wasn't surprising that she saw so many of them, because the first building she spotted was Violet City's pokémon center, its doors never closing because of the amount of people wanting to get inside.

She could see nurse Joy through the window, looking remarkably calm as hoards of young trainers asked for her attention. Amy could only imagine what the woman had to go through, suffering the presence of so many teenagers not used to working with pokémon.

Carrie nudged her gently and they moved to the centre of the city, pushing through the throngs of people. Now Amy could see that the place was entirely surrounded by trees, save for a few roads here and there, and that some of the buildings seemed to disappear in the shadows they cast.

Big buildings rose to her left and right, one proudly sporting the title of 'Gym' – something that caused Amy's heart to pound a bit faster – and another 'Earl's Pokémon Academy'. Both looked interesting enough, but also engulfed in groups of trainers. Amy couldn't imagine having to live in this city. Peaceful as it was supposed to be, there were simply too many people around.

"A lot of trainers leave their home in the spring, like you have, and this is the first gym they'll encounter, so it's no surprise that so many of them are stranded here. You know, the first gym badge is the toughest. It's reasonably easy to get here, but a lot more difficult to get out," Carrie explained, sitting down on one of the few benches that wasn't occupied.

All around them, kids were talking, high-pitches squeals occasionally breaking through the constant buzzing. Not even a swarm of beedrill could produce such a ruckus. Here and there a pokémon battle had started as well, commands shouted with much vigor. Not much else was said, for most of the pokémon battling knew only one or two moves.

"Most of the battles will be over at the Sprout Tower. A lot of trainers congregate there to train. These ones must not know about that yet."

Amy frowned. "I think it's rude to just start a pokémon battle in the middle of the City square."

"Ah, but for a lot of trainers this will be their first real battle. They're just testing their strength and forgetting about common courtesy." Carrie chuckled softly. "They'll grow out of that soon enough."

That was true, of course, and Amy could understand why they did it, too. Just watching them, she felt excited, the feral growls of pokémon sending shivers up her spine.

In front of her, a recently caught sentret was valiantly trying to evade the sharp beak of someone's hoot-hoot, and it was a sight to behold. Hairs went everywhere as the pecks finally hit, but the scout pokémon swung back its heavy tail and threw the bird to the ground. Both trainers cheered their pokémon on, repeating the same commands over and over again. Peck, tackle, scratch, all attacks just glanced off until finally, through sheer luck, sentret managed to slam the hoothoot against a tree, ending the battle and leaving one trainer very disappointed.

"I'll be right back, stay here." Carrie got up, but Amy was too busy turning her attention to another battle – a battered looking caterpie and an excited pidgey – to say much in return. That battle soon ended, but before the winner had been declared, another one start just behind her, and Amy was so busy trying to pay attention to all of them, that she didn't notice someone had sat down next to her until purple wings rested on her shoulder and she turned around to find herself face to face with humongous eyes.

* * *


	10. On Top Of The World

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own pokémon or any of its related enterprises. They are the property of their respective owners.

* * *

Amy shrieked, jumping off the bench and almost crashing into two other trainers. Trainers around her paused, staring at her for a second before continuing with what they were doing. The sounds of battle still rang true, and soon her odd behaviour was forgotten. She apologized hastily to the boy and girl she had bumped into, feeling bad for scaring them so, before finally realizing who had sat down next to her.

"Jason!"

The laughing man petted his venemoth's head, the expression of surprise on the pokémon almost comical. It seemed not only Amy had been startled, the sudden high-pitched cry she had let out just too loud for the bug pokémon's sensitive ears. Amy felt very foolish for her reaction, but the brown-haired boy didn't seem to mind. He was just amused, chuckling softly to himself as his pokémon made crooning noises and rubbed her head against his.

"I'm sorry, Amy." He chuckled softly. "We didn't mean to scare you. Venom just wanted to say hi, I suppose."

Sitting down awkwardly, Amy tried not to flinch as the bug pokémon extended her wings and rubbed them against her shoulder. A greeting of some sort, but not one Amy appreciated. She'd gotten used to being around Weedle, but she was still a long ways from being totally comfortable around other bugs.

"So, you've made it to Violet City. Well done," Jason continued, stretching his legs as they sat there watching the on-goings in the square. "Was that your mother I saw you with? I thought you travelled alone?"

"Come on now, I don't look _that_ old, now do I?"

Carrie had returned, and Jason looked horrified at the thought of offending her, but the woman's smile betrayed her good humour, though Jason appeared upset nonetheless. The woman shooed away all his apologies, laughing brightly and introducing herself. It wasn't long after that the two got to talking, sharing stories of misbehaving grass pokémon and their very first gym battles. Even with Carrie's feelings regarding battling, she'd still managed to get a few badges, both of Kanto's first gyms susceptible to the grass moves her pokémon enjoyed using. Even her charmeleon, undoubtedly a charmander at the time, hadn't been able help her past the third, however.

Sitting between them, venomoth perched precariously on her head, Amy still couldn't help but feel left out. Both trainers had helped her at one point, and were most kind, but the constant feeling of being inferior ate at her. Going somewhere with the aid of an experienced trainer had its definite perks, but Amy also began realizing that it had its downsides too.

Even worse, once she called Derek, she was sure he was going to harp about her not being independent enough, telling her to pursue her own dreams. Only, Carrie was such pleasant company.

"I'm going to call home," she murmured, a swipe of the arm dislodging venomoth from its spot and causing the pokémon to flap its majestic wings wildly. She was gone before the creature had even had the time to sit back down again.

Getting into the pokémon centre wasn't easy, but Amy managed it through patience and good manners. An 'excuse me' here and an 'I'm sorry' there made quick work of whoever was in her way, allowing her to finally set foot in the place. It was still buzzing with people, all the tables occupied by trainers eating breakfast, as well as pokémon chasing each other through the air, underneath the tables, and even using visitors as a place to hide. Twice Amy had to duck as two angry spearows tried maiming each other.

There was a long line in front of the phones, something she had expected, so instead Amy waited there, keeping an eye on things as well as she could. Occasionally someone would hurry in, leaving a hurt pokémon in Nurse Joy's expert hands, but all in all it was much of the same.

Until, with an air of importance about him, the trainer she had seen earlier walked in, chikorita dancing at his feet. His light blonde hair was tousled, but other than that he didn't look at all troubled by the hustle and bustle of the pokémon centre. She watched him as he took in the room, eyes finding the least crowded spot in the centre, conveniently located right beside her. Moving towards her, he nodded in greeting before sliding down to the floor, back against cheap plaster.

"I'm Amy," she offered, feeling awkward just standing there. The boy looked up, giving her a quick smile. His eyes were grey, but it was the shadow underneath them that told Amy he hadn't had it as easy as she'd thought. His chikorita, on the other hand, looked quite pleased with all the excitement, and made soft noises whenever someone hurried past.

"John," the boy replied, motioning to the pokémon beside him. "This is Flora." He paused, giving her a weak grin. "I know, not the most original of names, but it was an on-the-spot decision."

Amy chuckled, not particularly interested in telling John that her name – Toto – hadn't been exactly marvellous either. In fact, it suddenly dawned on her that she had yet to name Weedle, if she even could after so long a time. There simply were too many things to keep in mind when raising pokémon, she was feeling quite overwhelmed.

"You going to challenge Falkner?" she asked, not sure what else to bring up. She had no intention of challenging this boy, even talking about battles might just result in just that. Thus she smiled again confidently, showing interest in what his plans were.

"No, I'm skipping this gym. Flora would be at such a disadvantage that I'll never be able to win. I'm going to Azalea Town first. It'll be a struggle, because Flora is weak against bugs at well, but the pidgey I caught earlier should help with that."

"You can do that?" Amy asked, amazed. "Skip gyms, I mean."

"Sure you can," the boy answered, grinning again. "There's a suggested order, but it isn't set in stone. I'd be stuck here for months if I did it the way the league suggests we do."

He had a point, Amy mused. Looking at all the faces around the pokémon centre, she suspected a lot of them were here for just that reason. Green was the prominent colour, from small oddish and bellsprout waddling around, to the occasional fresh looks of a beaming chikorita. It made sense that those using grass pokémon – or having no other choice – would be stuck here. Not for the first time she silently thanked Derek for convincing her to choose totodile, even if they hadn't even won a match yet.

"But wouldn't Bugsy's pokémon be more difficult to beat? Falkner has weaker pokémon."

John shook his head. "Not really. He'll choose his pokémon depending on mine. You don't think those weak pidgey and pidgeotto Falkner uses are the only pokémon he owns, right? He wouldn't be a gym leader if that were true."

Looking down at the chikorita the boy owned, Amy realised how little she knew. Sure, she knew all about Toto's attacks, and how to prepare pokémon food, and even the differences between a totodile and a croconaw, but it were things like this, things that could make a difference, that she had never even considered. What if she ihad/i chosen a chikorita, would she have found herself stranded in this city forever?

"You're up."

Amy looked up to figure out what John had meant to find him pointing to the finally abandoned phone she had been waiting next to. Two other trainers, who had arrived later than her, motioned for her to hurry up and use it, both clearly not in the mood to wait much longer. Thanking John, she quickly dialled for home. Derek should still be there, mother's affection too strong to smother, and she really wanted to talk to him.

The waiting took painstakingly long, but Amy kept trying. She knew her mother had a habit of working outside at this time, and her father would most likely be asleep. It would take either of them a while to get to the phone.

Finally, with a charming jingle, it connected, and the screen fluctuated momentarily to reveal her mother on the other end. Amy decided not to comment on the dirty smudges adorning her mother's face, instead choosing to smile brightly and push down the sudden feeling of homesickness. When she'd been travelling with Carrie, she hadn't realised how much she missed home.

"Amy, dear, it is so good to see you! Your father and I had hoped you'd call," her mother said, face cheerful, but a strange shine to her eyes. She too, it seemed, had felt lonely now Amy was gone.

"Hey, mum. I'm in Violet City!"

Mentioning that was entirely unnecessary, of course, because there really wasn't any other pokémon centre she could have gone to that would have taken her this long to call. Cherrygrove was much closer, and her parents would have realised that she'd travelled on to Violet City before calling.

"Oh, that's wonderful! You must be so excited. You know, I haven't been to the Sprout Tower in ten years! Your father and I should really travel to Violet City one day. You know, I have always wanted to live there."

Amy made a face. "Well, mum, I think it's changed since you last visited." She moved closer to the screen as she noticed that the two trainers who'd been waiting for her to finish – a young girl with striking red hair, and a black haired boy somewhat older than her – were leaning in to listen to her conversation. "It's gotten really crowded."

Her mother's face dropped at that. "Aw, that's a pity. We'll just stick to the memories then." A short pause. "Just a second, honey," she continued, turning to look at something Amy couldn't see. She could hear the conversation, though.

"Growlithe, sweetie, go get Father. Amy's on the phone and he'll want to talk to her."

She couldn't see, but definitely picture, their growlithe's response. Her mother turned back to the screen and Amy could see Growlithe disappear through the door behind her.

"So, have you been able to catch any pokémon yet?"

This was the question Amy had dreaded. Sure, she'd caught a pokémon, but it wasn't exactly she could be very proud of. She'd learned to appreciate her weedle, but she wasn't so sure her mother would. If there was something Cynthia appreciated, then it was the fact that he husband's growlithe was territorial enough to keep any other pokémon at bay. Much like Amy, she had a deep disgust for anything with more than four legs.

"Ehm, yes. I caught a weedle," Amy answered weakly, turning red as she heard soft snickering from the boy behind her. Her mother, however, positively beamed back at her and cried out with glee. Whether it was forced or not, Amy couldn't tell, but it definitely boosted her ego.

"Oh, sweetheart, well done! Your very first captured pokémon, I am so proud! What about your starter, did you get the totodile Derek suggested?"

She nodded, suddenly reminded of what she had wanted to do. Talk to Derek. "I did. Is Derek still home?"

"Derek left for Cianwood City two days ago, I'm afraid. He had some business to attend there. Apparently one of the pokémon he trained has evolved, so its owner invited Derek over for a visit. It's a long voyage, of course, so we don't expect him to check in for another couple of weeks."

Cianwood City. That would indeed take a long while. As far as Amy knew, it took ages to cross the seas that separated Cianwood from Olivine City, and that didn't even include the journey from her hometown to the seaside port. Suddenly she felt very crestfallen, realising she wouldn't get to talk to her brother anytime soon. There was a pokémon centre in Cianwood, but Derek had no idea of when to call, so she'd have to wait until he had returned home. What a disappointment.

He was lucky, though. She'd always dreamed of visiting Cianwood City. The city across the water, with its small houses and beautiful sea-view, had fascinated her, probably because it was nigh unreachable. Only the strongest pokémon could carry their trainers that far, and beginning trainers didn't own those. In fact, she'd heard countless tales over the radio, of trainers stranded on small island, having to be rescued by a quad of firemen-blastoise, or a random passerby.

Perhaps one day, Amy thought, Toto would be big and strong enough to carry her, and she'd be able the illustrious pokémon seer she knew lived on the island. Because above all she wanted to find out what the future had in store for her and her pokémon.

"Look, there's your father. Be gentle with him, he only just woke up," her mother joked, blowing a kiss to her daughter before moving aside to allow the bulky form of her father some room. He definitely looked like he'd just woken up; hair on end and eyes sleepy. The moment he saw her, his eyed brightened, though, and there was a genuine smile on his lips.

"Amy! Good to see you. You've had a pleasant journey so far, I hope?"

She grinned. "Oh, it's been great! A bit scary, but I've had a wonderful time."

"Bless. That's good to hear. I worried about you, you know, but you seem to be fine. Are you homesick, yet?"

"Yeah, a little," Amy confessed, and her father nodded.

"That's to be expected. Chin up, kiddo, you'll be fine, and we'll be waiting for you when you come back home."

Listening to her father and his confidence in her, Amy felt choked up, but the touching moment was interrupted by the view she had of the people waited behind her. An even larger line had formed, and most of the people in the front eyed her with annoyance. None had been rude enough to confront her about it, but she could see they thought she was taking too long.

Most of them looked like her, some a little older, some with tears in their eyes, but definitely like her. They too must be waiting to talk to their parents, and at the sniffling of a little girl next to her, she suddenly felt extremely guilty for taking so long. Perhaps the next pokémon centre, in Azalea Town, would be less crowded and allow her some more alone time with her parents. Here the only alone time she'd be getting was if she locked herself in a bathroom stall and didn't come out.

Turning back to her parents – mother hovering in the background, trying to look over her husband's shoulder but failing – she gave a weak smile.

"I think I should go. There's a huge line."

"Not surprising. Okay, Amy, do you want us to tell Derek something for you should he call?"

"No, no," she hastened to say, not quite willing to suffer the indignation of Derek finding out her first and only caught pokémon was a centipede with an overgrown stinger on its head. "Just that I'll call him later, okay?"

"Of course. Well, then, your mother and I hope to talk to you soon. Call us anytime."

"I will!"

With that she disconnected, allowing the boy to take her place. Looking to the side, she noticed John was gone and wondered if he'd gone off to Azalea Town already. Or perhaps he'd chosen to go to the Sprout Tower instead. If there were so many trainers here, then she could only imagine the resident battle area would be like. Hoisting her bag higher on her shoulders, she decided to go find out.

Walking outside, she was struck by the pleasant warmth of the sun. The pokémon centre was cold in comparison – though that was probably for the best, considering there were so many people cramped together – and she relaxed. This wasn't so bad, she could do this. Finding her way back to the bench she had left Carrie and Jason at, she saw neither one had moved. Carrie was talking, as she was apt to do, and Jason listened intently. Venomoth had fluttered to a nearby tree and sat there looking down at everything, its antennas moving every time a pokémon hurled past.

The earlier battles had made room for even more, young trainers releasing their pokémon with a proud cry. Most of the creatures she saw were pretty common, their dull brown coats reminiscing of their type. Normal, basic, seen throughout the land. Still, she rather liked the thought of a sentret bouncing after her, its large ears swivelling whenever it heard a sound.

Taking great care not to interrupt anything, she made her way back to the bench, dropping her bag on the sandy ground next to them. Carrie and Jason didn't seem at all perturbed at the way she'd left, instead welcomed her back brightly. Both had some of their other pokémon out as well, and it was the first time Amy saw a real life krabby. The small crab pokémon clung desperately to the bench, like it feared being among so big a crowd, and its claws had made dents in the otherwise sturdy wood.

"Smith keeps applying vicegrip to random objects. I swear, waking up with a krabby stuck to your hand isn't pleasant. I should never have coaxed him into learning it," Jason joked as he saw Amy's stare. Where she was from, they didn't see too many water pokémon, so even seeing one that was unremarkable, like krabby, meant a lot to her.

"Smith?" Amy asked, frowning at the unlikely and unfortunate name. It didn't fit its personality at all, the way the pokémon was glaring at her revealing its rough and, well, crabby nature.

Jason chuckled. "Yes. Smith. I traded krabby for one of my old venonat, you see, and this name came with it. Goes to show what a delicate business naming your pokémon is."

Suddenly an explosion sounded behind them, and all thoughts of pokémon names were forgotten as children screamed in fright and pokémon fled to hind behind their trainers. Krabby, not bothered by the possibility of trouble, used the distraction the try and grab Amy's leg, but she could just jump to the side. Giving the water pokémon an admonishing stare, she moved further away from it and towards the area where the explosion had come from.

A huge dust cloud had formed, covering everyone in pesky sand, but as the smoke cleared and Amy shielded her eyes, the scared crying ceased and everyone turned to the source of the explosion. There, lying nose-first on the ground, they saw a scrawny looking geodude. Where most geodude Amy had seen had distinctively big arms and rocky muscles, this one could have easily been mistaken for a stray pebble, its arms no bigger than a twig.

Smoke twirled upwards from the scorched form of the geodude, and the kakuna that had been standing – as far as a kakuna could – opposite it looked worse for wear as well. Two trainers hurried forward, both checking on their poor pokémon. The boy owning the geodude lifted its heavy form with great difficulty, but eventually managed to get it to the pokémon centre. The boy owning the kakuna took his time, pleased to have won the battle and less concerned, for his bug was still intact.

"Wow," Amy whispered, again avoiding the swiping claws of krabby – who had decided now was as good a time as any to let go of the bench and search for other things to grab onto.

"Using self-destruct for such an arbitrary match. That poor geodude," Carrie muttered crossly, arms crossed and eyes squinting. All three stared at the blackened ground for a bit longer, until Carrie returned to being her cheerful self. Amy had seen a glimpse of the older woman's rage, though, and while this had been mere distaste, she didn't want to find out how angry she could really get.

Jason shrugged. "That must have been a strong geodude, though. The boy did good in catching it."

"I'm sure it rolled down from the Dark Cave near Blackthorn City. Some very powerful geodude live there, and they're known to stumble and roll down when they suddenly find themselves outside. This boy must have been terribly lucky and caught one just after it fell."

"It still lost, though," Amy offered uncertainly, the thought of such a powerful pokémon losing to a mere kakuna not something that she'd ever expected.

Carrie smiled at her. "It depends on the situation. Kakuna are masters at hardening their shell and upping their defence. The explosion was so far away that it didn't hit kakuna full force and it was able to survive, while geodude was out for the count. This is why moves such as self-destruct and explosion should be used with extreme caution."

Amy nodded. "I'm just glad I wasn't anywhere near them."

"Indeed. Now, shall we finally go and visit Sprout Tower? It has a marvellous view and perhaps you can even find yourself someone to battle."

All around them the chatter continued, no longer captivated by the sight of two blackened pokémon. Carrie lead the way, her friendly smile and gentle voice causing crowds to part whenever she asked, leading them to eventually halt in front of the biggest structure Amy had ever seen. Coming from a small, insignificant town where only the mayor's house had two stories, she had never seen a tower in her life.

Gawking at the massive building rising up before her, she wasn't homesick anymore, such a sight definitely worth a bit of heartache. From the bottom to the top, it all spoke of ancient legends and tales of old.

Right before her, a large door allowed anyone who wanted it to enter. A lot of people did, from trainers carrying pokémon, to families and the occasional old man reliving the old days. Swaying from side to side, the tower's protection against earthquakes, and Amy marvelled at the invention. How smart its creators must have been.

At the very top she could spy small forms, all overlooking the city like a tree towering over the forest floor. They must look really small from up there, Amy mused, like a rattata scurrying amongst a tree's roots. She could only imagine looking over the forests to the east to where the dark cave was, or west to Azalea Town. For a second she entertained the thought of seeing John and his chikorita walk towards it.

"A sight to behold, isn't it?" Carrie commented, looking up at the building herself. To her it must be even more special, built in the image of a bellsprout as it was. It looked like she'd been here before, though, and that might make things different, while Amy felt she could barely move as she stared up it.

Eventually, feeling a bit silly standing there when everyone else passed her, Amy and the others made their way inside. The ground floor differed much from the square outside. While outside it had been buzzing with conversation and shards of pokémon battles, here lingered a hushed silence. A guide, to their left, spoke quietly to the ground she was leading, but most people kept a revered silence. It could have something to do with the pillar in the centre of the room, Amy mused, for the sight of something so large moving freely and keeping the tower safe was truly awe-inspiring.

Surrounding the entrance, two large bellsprout statues stood. Their stony eyes bore into her, like they were searching for something within her, and Amy felt less comfortable with being so near them than apparently Carrie did. The woman had immediately moved towards them, glancing critically at the way they'd been portrayed. Seemingly convinced that they'd done well, Carrie eventually stopped staring at the art.

"Where do we go?" Amy asked in a whisper, though Jason had already moved to one side of the room. There seemed to be two stairs, one traversed by mostly eager trainers, the other by those that wanted nothing to do with their battling. Following Jason, they chose the latter, something Amy was very grateful for. If she were honest, the earlier battle outside had scared her, and she'd much rather explore this ancient structure.

It took quite a few stairs for them to reach the top. The first two floors were out of their reach meant for the thudding sounds of pokémon hitting wooden floorboards, instead they were led onto the fourth floor. There some of the old monks resided, squabbling quietly over something they had no intention of sharing. Some of the tourists watched them, taking pictures, while most continued to the next.

The stairs shuddered with the movements of the pillar, surprisingly noticeable now they were so far up. Amy held on to Jason's elbow, not wanting to be thrown off, glad that he had returned both of his pokémon to their pokéballs. She had a feeling neither pokémon would appreciate her clinging to their trainer so.

The fifth floor was empty, aside from four bellsprout statues gathering dust in the corners. A lot of people had made use of this, spreading their jackets on the wooden floor and sitting down to enjoy a snack. Others, enamoured by how high up they were, peeked out of the windows at the hustle and bustle below. Amy forced herself not to look, not wanting to spoil the experience of being even higher up in the tower.

So they continued their climb, finally reaching the highest part of the tower. Safety railings, rusty but still solid, kept them from getting too close to the edge, but the sight was wondrous even so.

A strong breeze ruffled Amy's hair as she neared the end of the tower, but she didn't notice. Before her lay Violet City, red rooftops blinking in the sun. People, turned into mere black dots, walked around below like ants near an anthill. She could spy the pokémon centre, farthest away from her, and Falkner's gym. She even saw, through the leaves of trees up ahead, the contours of the sentry house they'd passed earlier.

The road they'd taken lay stretched out before her, and she suddenly realised what a long way she'd come already. Endless rows of trees separated her from Cherrygrove city, and so many more miles distanced her from home. She was on top of the world, suddenly feeling very small.

Turning to the west, she could see the road that lead to Azalea Town. The woods had parted, probably through human hands, and the road was broad, easily distinguishable even from such a distance. Try as she might, she couldn't see any trainers, it was just too far off, but already she pictured herself walking there.

A guardhouse she saw, as well, pointing to the fact that whoever passed it was leaving route 36 and moving on to enter the National Park. She'd heard much about the place, about the contests that were being held constantly, and the strong pokémon that lurked in the grass. She was curious about it, of course, and the thought of entering a capture contest sounded rather thrilling. Still, for now she was stuck in Violet City, even if the towns she knew lay behind the horizon beckoned her.

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" Carrie asked, leaning on the railing beside her. Amy nodded, not sure which way to turn. To the west she could see sandy paths lead through forest green, but to the east she knew the pokémon league to be, and even though she couldn't see a thing, just staring in that direction brought forth images of battling the Elite Four.

"Definitely worth the walk," Jason interjected, also looking rather taken back by the view. Amy figured it must have been quite a while since he had last been here. Trainers of his calibre wouldn't often travel these paths. Not that she blamed them, looking down at the hordes of beginners walking around below.

-

They stayed up there for quite a while. The view didn't bore easily, and the three talked softly about their plans. It was decided early on that today would be a day of sightseeing and checking things out, allowing Amy to find herself an opponent to battle. The next day, Carrie would have to start her research, something she couldn't do when an inexperienced trainer was following her around. Amy knew this, so she didn't complain when Jason suggested they'd go out into the nearby grass and train, while Carrie crawled around on her hands and knees trying to find oddish amongst the many bellsprout.

Amy didn't know how long the woman's research would take, but she hoped it wouldn't be long. She rather liked travelling with her, as well as the security that came with having an experienced adult by your side. It was the easy way out, of course, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be on her own yet.

Jason had shared his plans to go to the National Park, something Amy had been very excited about, but he'd wait a few days to see how Amy's gym battle went. It put a lot of pressure on her, but also allowed her to ask the man questions and learn some new things. After all, he'd done all this before and would know just what to do.

For now, though, the two older trainers turned to her and motioned to the stairs.

"How about you find yourself someone to battle? Sprout Tower is a really great to start practising for your gym-battle," Jason suggested, something Carrie seemed to agree with for she nodded her head and smiled.

"We haven't seen totodile fight yet, either, and weedle could definitely use the experience. After all, he'll be at a huge disadvantage in the match," she piped up. "Though perhaps you could come back here tonight and try catching yourself a gastly."

Jason grinned. "That's a great tactic. With gastly's hypnosis, you have a lot of chances to attack."

"We are allowed up here at night?" Amy asked, not entirely sure she wanted to break any laws and be caught for breaking and entering, even if it resulted in catching a gastly.

"Oh, yes. It happens quite a lot that people spend the night here. Of course if there's too many of them, the gastly might not come out, but you'll just have to bide your time."

Nodding, Amy lead the two down the stairs. Nearing the third floor, she could already heard the sounds of battle. Fierce cries, occasionally drifting through the cracks in the floor, reminded her of what she'd set out to do. Impress Derek with her skills as a trainer. Touching the pokéballs on her belt, she felt a rush of adrenaline once she entered the third floor. She was going to win.

* * *


	11. A Shining Example

**Disclaimer:** I do not own pokémon or any of its related enterprises. They are the property of their respective owners.

-

Moments after Amy had entered the third floor, she was assaulted by a brown, feathery form that hurled her way. Jumping to the side quickly, she watched in terror as the poor creature hit the wall behind her with a solid thud. A pidgey, no longer moving, lay crumpled at her feet, its trainer hurrying over quickly to return it to its pokéball. Seconds later they were gone, already rushing off to the pokémon centre. The other trainer, realising he wasn't going to get his money if he let the kid go, bolted after them, angry scowl on his face.

No wonder the pokémon centre was so full, Amy realised. By the looks of things, battles were pretty savage here, and that pidgey hadn't been the first or last to find itself slung against the tower's sturdy walls. Inching closer to the fray of pokémon battles, Amy watched with amazement at the scene before here. Where the view upstairs had been gorgeous, this was terrifying.

Close to six battles were being fought, severely restricted by the lack of room. Two spearows, not caring that below them other pokémon charged each other, flew to and fro above the rest, pecking at each other as they went. A beedrill, rather large compared to the rest, buzzed threateningly in a corner, trying to evade the quick jabs of sharp teeth. Rattata were fierce, as Amy already knew.

Right next to her a large group of young trainers watched an evenly matched battle of a sentret and yet another rattata, both rodents fast and agile as they tried to hit each other's weak spots. Amy watched in fascination as the rattata's mighty fangs took hold of its opponent's tail, holding on for dear life while the sentret screamed in agony.

She had never seen so many pokémon in one place before, and it was truly a sight to behold. Kids were everywhere, either watching a battle or snooping around in search of a suitable opponent. Already some were eyeing her, trying to deduct whether or not she'd have strong pokémon. Perhaps it was the fact that Carrie and Jason were standing behind her that stopped one of the girls looking at her to quickly turned her head when she noticed Amy staring at her.

Another approached her, though, looking very much like a beginning trainer herself. Her tan skin spoke of a lot of walking in the sun, and Amy guessed she might have been on her journey longer than she was, but aside from that they looked a lot alike. Both daunted by all the battling in front of them, but eager to try it out themselves.

"Hey, I'm Maria," the girl introduced herself. "Wanna battle?"

Amy gave her a smile. "Sure."

Both looked at each other awkwardly, eyes searching for a spot that might give them enough room. Luckily the beedrill had finally caught its prey, and the rattata lay sprawled on the floor. Their trainers returned them to their pokéballs, one eager to get his winnings, the other upset that their rattata hadn't been able to pull off the upset. The two girls immediately took their stances on the vacated spot, keeping others from using that particular area, and Carrie walked up to them.

"Shall I be the referee?"

It occurred to Amy that most of the battles she'd seen hadn't included any, which would perhaps draw attention to them, but she rather liked having Carrie's impartiality there. She knew the rules, so she'd be able to guide them if they went wrong. Not that Amy thought she'd get things wrong. If there was anything she knew, then it was how to battle. Derek had done so countless of times, trying to train whatever pokémon he had with him, so it was something she could do in her sleep. Follow the right rules, that is, for the act of battling had yet to be perfected. She'd lost to a weedle, after all.

"Sure," the other girl mumbled. "How about two on two, no substitutions?"

Amy could only guess what pokémon the other girl had, but she nodded. She hadn't been able to use Toto yet, so it would be interesting to see how it went. After all, catching a weedle hardly counted as a battle, even if she thought Weedle was particularly ferocious.

"Okay," she replied, trying to figure out which pokémon to use first. It was a pity she hadn't seen the girl around before, because there was no telling what pokémon she'd caught, or which she'd chosen at the beginning of her journey. In fact, she might not even have had to get a pokémon from the professor, so it could be anything. Maybe a geodude from the mountain road, or, if she'd gone farther, a gyarados from Lake of Rage. There was no way of telling.

"Since I'm the referee, how about you go first, Amy?"

She'd hoped that the other trainer would go first, but apparently it wasn't to be so. Grabbing one pokéball from her belt, she tried to ignore the shouting around her, instead focussed on her own battle. It was hard, for occasionally a pokémon would cross into their section, or wings would graze the top of her head. It was a difficult place to focus in and the other girl looked much more used to it.

"Go, Weedle!" Amy called, releasing her bug pokémon with a swell of pride. He might not be the biggest or baddest pokémon in the tower, but he was hers, and that was something none of the others could say.

Looking over, she could see that Maria had a hard time deciding which one to use. There was a contemplative look to her, eyes squinting and teeth worrying lips. Eventually she came to a decision, though, grabbing one of the three pokéballs that adorned her waist, and aiming it in front of her.

"Come on out, Tower!"

At first Amy had no idea what kind of pokémon would deserve the name 'Tower' – it seemed particularly cruel – but when the wobbly form of a bellsprout appeared, she quickly figured it out. While not a beautiful name for any creature, it was still fitting. To use a bellsprout in the Sprout Tower, there was something special about that.

"Now, since Amy had to choose her pokémon first, she should be allowed to attack first. Fair enough?" Carrie looked at Maria, who nodded. "Alright, then. Go ahead, Amy."

In front of her, Weedle had already narrowed his eyes at their opponent. He looked ready to storm forward and do some damage, but Amy felt indecisive about what move to choose first. Poison sting would be good if they could get in closer, the poisonous barb on Weedle's head quite dangerous, but if she used string shot and made sure bellsprout couldn't move, then that would be an advantage, too.

"Weedle, use string shot!" Amy ordered, not liking the idea of getting quite as close to bellsprout as poison sting would take them. Who knew what attacks it could do?

Immediately Weedle raised its head high and started shooting flimsy strands of fibre towards the bellsprout. It looked like nothing, but Amy had seen how strong it could be. The bellsprout looked up, eyes lazy, but Maria clearly didn't intend to let the first move hit.

"Tower, dodge to the side!"

With a graceful movement of its thin body, the bellsprout swerved out of the way, Weedle's string shot instead landing at Maria's feet. A long line of sticky string now covered the floor, something Amy figured would come in handy. She didn't know how long it would stay like that, but hopefully it wouldn't dissolve any time soon. Last time she'd seen it used it had taken a pair of scissors to remove, so it should still be usable later on. An advantage, she figured.

"Weedle, use string shot again. This time to the left!"

Aiming it at bellsprout's other side this time, the strings didn't hit, instead landing on the wooden floor again. Maria looked frustrated, but didn't seem to be taken back by this strange tactic.

"Watch out, Tower, they're trying to trap you! Don't get near the string shot!"

The bellsprout looked annoyed, at first, at the girl's frantic yelling, but it did move around awkwardly, eyes alternating between both of the strings Weedle had produced. Its leaf-like arms flailed slightly, but it still stood firm. The bug and grass pokémon eyed each other, as did the trainers. Amy couldn't help herself, feeling like she should do something.

"Weedle, use Poison Sting!"

The small creature charged forward as fast as its small feel could carry it, crossing the splintery floor like it was nothing. Head lowered, the barb on its head was aimed straight for their opponent.

"Dodge it!" Maria ordered again, watching with a firm scowl on her face as the small centipede hurled its body forward. When it was in mid-air, Tower bent its body out of the way, roots still firmly in place but the rest of its body contorted to the side. Much like the tower, Amy realised, moving even though it was still in place.

Weedle soared through the air, not coming in contact with the bellsprout's thin body at all. Instead it landed heavily on the floor, its small body wriggling in an attempt to quickly get back to its feet. Maria didn't give it the time it needed to do so.

"Now, Tower, use vine whip!"

The bellsprout turned around immediately, eyes suddenly clear as thick vines sprouted from its body and whipped across the battle field. They were much thicker than Weedle's string shot had been, and Amy could only imagine how painful being slapped around by them would be. She clenched her fists, mentally urging Weedle to get up.

"Watch out Weedle, dodge them!" she yelled, no longer feeling foolish for making such a ruckus. In the heat of the battle, anything was allowed, and if she could annoy the bellsprout by being extremely loud, then she'd take it.

The small bug turned his head just in time, seeing the two green menaces shoot his way. He rolled to the side quickly, dodging the first, then ducked his head to evade the second. Tower wasn't giving up, though, and immediately two more headed for him. Weedle had gotten to his feet, making running away from angry vines much easier. He could barely jump out of the way, though he still managed it, but Tower seemed to have figured it out. Without urging from its trainer, the vines hurled towards Weedle again, this time anticipating the fact that Weedle would dodge, and hit him square on take-off.

It wasn't a huge hit, Tower not experienced enough to put much force behind such a move, but again Weedle landed hard. It was frightfully close to the string shot it had produces earlier, too, something Amy wasn't particularly pleased with. The bellsprout wobbled a bit, turning its yellow head to where Weedle had landed. It looked pleased.

"Again, Tower, use Vine Whip!"

Amy knew another hit would probably throw Weedle right into the trap she'd constructed to ensnare the bellsprout, so she frantically tried to come up with a plan. While not strong, the combination of that vine whip with the painful landings every time Weedle was hit would put a huge dent in Weedle's health, and she had no intention of watching her pokémon slowly succumb to being thrown around. Seeing her weedle turn his beady eyes to her, looking for guidance, she swallowed nervously and tried to think of some sort of strategy that would work. Unfortunately she knew all too well about bellsprout's strengths – having been there during many a bellsprout/rattata match – but nothing about its weaknesses.

Green flashed through the air and Amy had but seconds to come up with a plan. She decided on a flimsy one.

"Jump!" she bellowed, startling both herself and possibly the bellsprout opposite her. Weedle launched himself into the air, trying to gain as much height as his small feet would allow him to. Out of balance, he fell to the side in mid-air, but managed to somehow land on the ground without too much trouble. There he turned his head, eyes viciously boring into the bellsprout. Who, it seemed, was firmly and irrevocably stuck.

At Weedle's surprise jump and Amy's sudden cry, the bellsprout hadn't known what to do, and hadn't paid attention to where its vines had been going. Only now that it wasn't trying to decide who to focus on, did it – and with the pokémon, its trainer – realise what had happened. One of bellsprout's long vines was stuck in the slimy string shot on the floor.

Amy didn't waste any time. "Now, Weedle, Poison Sting!"

The creature bounded forward, all too eager to finally do some damage. It was rather remarkable, Weedle's willingness to jump in like that, especially for a pokémon so small. Having spent years worrying about every pidgey that flew by must really have annoyed the poor thing, and now that it could finally fight back – even though a bellsprout didn't resemble a pidgey in the slightest – was taking full advantage.

Nearing the grass pokémon with surprising speed for a bug, Weedle looked more determined than ever. Tower, on the other hand, had begun pulling at its vine, frantically trying to get rid of the nuisance that was Weedle's string shot. Maria watched helplessly, encouraging but truly helpless at this point.

"Pull, Tower, pull!" she tried, but it was no use. With a frustrated cry Weedle embedded his stinger in the bellsprout's head, the subsequent hissing in pain the welcome result. They were finally getting somewhere. The bellsprout pulled and pulled, swaying from the impact like a tree about to topple over, but still not free. Weedle turned, ready to lunge again.

"Once more, Weedle!"

Looking at the scene before her, Amy figured she could actually win this. Around her some people had gathered, but she paid no heed. This was itheir/i match, and Weedle was going to win.

Then the unthinkable happened. With a last sharp pull, bellsprout broke free of its predicament. Weedle kept on running, not disturbed at all, but Amy's eyes went wide.

"Yes!" Maria yelled, clearly appreciating this stroke of luck. "Tower, use Wrap!"

Before Amy could say anything, Weedle had already reached his target. She fought the urge to close her eyes as her small bug plunged forward like nothing was wrong, not daunted by the strong, curling vines that waited for him. In mid-air, coiling like snakes, they struck.

Amy could only imagine what it had to feel like for a sensitive skinned creature like Weedle to be crushed with such force. Tower's gentle face seemed focused, perfectly aware of its duty, and Weedle's eyes had closed, pained noises reaching even Amy's ears as she stood there at the sidelines. She didn't know what to do.

She'd been convinced they had it in the bag, which had been her downfall. With her distracted, Weedle had been distracted, and thought of glory had brought her to fall into her own trap; forgetting about outside interference. Where bellsprout had to watch the sticky mess on the floor, she had to make sure she realised said sticky mess might not last. A terrible mistake to make.

"Weedle, try hitting him with your stinger!"

Not giving up, both Amy and Weedle felt determined to pull this around. If they still could. Aiming his large head towards Tower's bell-shaped one, Weedle started making stabbing motions. It didn't do much, of course, but Tower was slowly having more and more trouble with keeping the bug away from it. Holding even Weedle's lithe body up in the air like that took strength, and Tower just hadn't developed that yet. Slowly the repeated struggling brought Weedle closer and closer to the ground, the regal bellsprout slightly out of breath due to the strain.

Eventually it had to let go.

"Tower, use Vine Whip!" Maria ordered right away, not giving her pokémon a chance to catch its breath. Probably for the best, Amy figured, because this way she wasn't giving her opponent time either. With Weedle's prone form on the ground, struggling to get to its feet, this was the right time to strike.

"Come on, Weedle, you can do it!" Amy called out, realising how corny she sounded. No wonder those trainers always got so into what they were doing. It was terrible just standing there and not being able to do anything.

Which made having to stand there and watch the bellsprout's vines whip Weedle to the side that much worse. With a pitiful whine, breaking Amy's heart to hear it, the small bug slumped to the ground, down for the count.

"Weedle is unable to continue. Bellsprout wins," Carrie said formally, though her eyes betrayed her disappointment. What she was disappointed about, Amy didn't want to know. Poor Weedle had worked so hard, but Amy simply hadn't known what to do. With a sigh she returned him to his pokéball, grabbing Totodile's instead. This was going to be difficult.

With bellsprout still out on the battlefield, Amy knew they were at a disadvantage. Water and grass, the one nourishing the other, but in this case also its destruction. The bellsprout looked slightly winded, though, evening out the chances a bit.

"Let's go, Toto!"

The first thing the totodile did when it appeared was gawk at the crowd that had gathered. Restricted as they were – too many battles going on and too little space – other trainers had gathered. Most were busy watching a majestic fearow toy with a caterpie, but some had slid down against the wall to watch Amy make a fool out of herself. It was quite a scary thought, to be watched by the judging eyes of so many.

Totodile didn't seem fazed by that in the slightest, making happy sounds and thumping his tail on the ground. Looking to impress, it seemed, though he did keep one eye on the wiry bellsprout in front of him. He was no fool.

The onlookers gazed at him with disinterest. Totodile they had seen, more than once. They weren't as abundant as the chikorita, but they were there, and they'd all probably fought one before. Toto didn't know that, though, and reacted slightly agitated at the lack of awe he received. Dust sprang up at the bashing of Toto's powerful tail, escaping the heavy fall of muscle and flesh. The annoyed totodile chattered away, seemingly berating the crowd for their horrible taste. Amy had to laugh.

"Come on, Toto, we have a match!" she urged, but the totodile just looked at her in contemplation. It took him a few minutes of hobbling from side to side – all the while hoping to catch some sort of attention from the demure crowd – to finally turn his attention to Tower. The creature had remained where it was, gracefully swaying from side to side with the movement of the actual tower they were in. It looked calm, eyes nearly completely shut, as if it were regenerating from the earlier battle.

Toto narrowed his eyes at the grass pokémon. It was as good a sign as any that he was ready, so Amy nodded to Carrie, indicating she was ready to continue. Better yet,her pokémon was ready.

A soft 'begin' from their referee was all it took for both trainers to plant their feet and arch their back. The importance of a pokémon battle hadn't faded for them yet, their age adding to that, and they both felt like they should be growing several inches because of it. This was a delicate business, but it was cool, and they wanted to appear as such.

"Tower, use Growth!" Maria ordered, taking the initiative and leaving Amy trying to remember what that attack meant again.

In front of them, the bellsprout spread its arms, leaves shivering under the assault of an intense green glow. Energy seemed to surge through the thin body, reverberating up and in nerves, shiny sparkles jumping from Tower's body up into the air. It was a spectacle, but one Amy knew she shouldn't be focusing on. The bellsprout had an advantage over them even without this added bonus, they couldn't stand around and do nothing.

"Toto, scratch!"

Not wanting to give their opponents much of a chance to get ready, the totodile charged forward. Strong legs carried it quickly to the other side of the field, tail rigid and providing balance as Toto dashed towards the plant. Amy sneaked a glance at Maria, catching the way the girl was biting her bottom lip in concentration. It was odd, standing across from someone who was trying their hardest to make you fail. It was a sobering thought, and Amy quickly turned her attention back to Toto.

"Move, Tower!" Maria yelled just as the totodile neared his opponent. With an agile twist, the bellsprout bent to the side, curled in a position that didn't seem possible. Clearly bellsprout were more flexible than Amy had given them credit for.

Instead of hitting his target, Toto sped past, tiny claws digging into the wood as he tried to turn. It took his body a few seconds to do so, momentum too big to counter, and Maria used this to her advantage.

"Now, Tower, use vine whip!"

Righting itself again, the bellsprout narrowed its eyes at the blue creature and the by now familiar vines shot his way. Amy's stomach lurched, she knew how vulnerable her totodile would be to grass attacks. If they didn't watch out, this could really hurt.

"Dodge, Toto!" she ordered, feeling tempted to just close her eyes and hope for the best. She couldn't, though, not while Toto was so valiantly trying to win. They had to win together, or not at all.

With a cry of surprise, the water pokémon dropped to his stomach, the attack whooshing overhead. With a sharp pull, the vines were hauled down, but Toto rolled out of the way. With resounding whacks, the green twines struck the wood of the floor, then were pulled back. Again the bellsprout tried to hit the slippery totodile, but he was still too fast. His legs carried him away from them, either through jumping, or simply running to safety. Amy was rather impressed with her pokémon's stamina, even though he was slowly getting winded.

"Keep at it, Tower!" Maria encouraged, leaving Amy to find a way to stop her before her totodile had become too tired to evade their attempts.

"Now, Toto, scratch at the vines!"

Listening to her command, the small pokémon raised its claws. Nails glinted as they cut through the air, hitting their target and slapping away those pesky vines. Another vine whip attack resulted in much the same, leaving the two pokémon at a stand-still. Amy didn't know how long her totodile's attempts were going to hold up against a grass attack, but she didn't have much time to find out. Again they came flying through the air, the continued attacks clearly exerting their opponent.

"Duck and jump forward!" Amy yelled, excited at the opening she'd found. Doing just that, Toto fell to his knees, then jumped forward with the aide of his strong tail. Banging it against trees seemed to have helped, because it was almost like he had an extra leg to use. Bounding forward, Toto stopped right in front of the bellsprout, claws already raised.

"Scratch!"

Looking quite pleased, the blue critter started scratching away at the sensitive skin of the bellsprout's head. The grass pokémon twisted and turned, trying to get away from those nasty claws. Toto stayed with it, eyes focused and tail moving at every scratch.

"Tower, use wrap!" Maria tried desperately, but her pokémon was too distracted to do much. The vines did try and wrap around the totodile, but were evaded quite easily, Amy's pokémon ducking swiftly out of its way. The plant quivered, vines wrecked with tremors every time Toto's scratch attacks hit. Eventually, the already tired bellsprout succumbed to the vehement attacks, falling to the ground with a thud. Toto stood proudly, looking at the crowd around him with gleaming eyes, as a flashy red light returned the bellsprout to its pokéball.

The totodile seemed quite pleased with himself, head held high and small squeaks telling Amy he felt rather good. Around them some people were clapping, but most had long given up on watching the battle. As Amy looked up, she noticed why. An older trainer, probably thirteen or so, had brought a pokémon out to battle next to them that looked like nothing she'd seen before. It was a huge bird, wings gleaming and coated in silver. It was bigger than any bird pokémon she'd seen before, claws sharp and beak snapping at even its trainer. The young boy stood to the side, appearing worried, and from everywhere people were crowding around them.

The other trainer, having sent out a startled looking metapod, seemed close to just giving up. Amy couldn't blame him, the sight of such a majestic creature would have scared her too, and there was little doubt that the metapod was going to get annihilated by their opponent. She thought about sending in Weedle to fight it, and realised she couldn't even imagine going through with that.

Turning her attention back to the battle she was in, she noticed that Carrie looked at the spectacle in worry. If she too was concerned, then something must really be up.

Toto on the other hand didn't seem distracted at all, instead keeping up his vigilance in trying to interest the few people still watching them. A young girl, probably around the age of five, seemed the only one remotely interested in him, something the water pokémon didn't much appreciate. He snapped angrily at the air, like he was being tormented by invisible creatures. In reality he was probably angry that he was being ignored in favour of a tin bird.

"Come on, Toto, just one more," Amy said quietly, trying to turn his attention back to their battle. Maria too seemed to be ready to continue, even though her eyes occasionally turned to the other side. Every shrill cry turned heads, and even Amy had trouble ignoring it. What was going on?

"Okay, well, time for you to send out your next pokémon, Maria."

The girl nodded at Carrie's request, grabbing a pokéball from her pocket. Soon enough her second pokémon was sent out, causing Amy to bite her lip much like Maria had done before. She had finally beaten a trainer's pokémon, now they had to see if she could do so twice. Toto looked a little tired, but overall the victory had given him a large boost. His ego had grown substantially, not that it needed any of that, and already he was glaring in Maria's direction. He was ready for another fight.

The pokémon that appeared was one Amy knew well. They always lurked around their home at night, signalling the falling of darkness. Hoothoot, with its large, red eyes and serious appearance had given her quite a scare more than once. They had a habit of suddenly appearing on a tree branch, or peering down at her from on top of a house. It was a curious sensation, feeling eyes follow you wherever you went.

While scary, Amy knew this was going to be good practice for her gym-battle. Maria's hoothoot certainly looked tough enough, plus it was of the flying type that Falkner loved using. If she could win against Maria, then she would have a better chance at accomplishing the same with Falkner.

"Begin," Carrie mumbled, stepping back to allow the fighting to commence. Amy took a deep breath, then focused her attention on Toto.

"Go for it, Toto, use scratch!"

By now knowing what exactly that meant, Toto was quick to leap forward and scratch away at brown feathers. The hoothoot, looking at them with a haughty expression, flapped its wings in disgust, acting without even needing to be told. Soon its small wings had carried it upwards and away from the painful jabs. Maria seemed more than pleased, but Amy tried fervently to come up with a plan. What could she do to battle an airborne foe?

Deciding she couldn't waste any time, she chose to try and distract the bird. It would be difficult, but she didn't know what else to do.

"Toto, use leer!"

Pausing on the spot, the water pokémon turned to the flying opponent. His eyes started glinting dangerously, seemingly growing in size. It was truly a frightening sight, like his eyes had a life of their own and had become blood-red. High up in the sky, the hoothoot – large eyes catching all – made the mistake of looking down, caught in the full glare of Toto's leer. It wavered, falling to the side before catching itself again, and momentarily gazed at the lizard in alarm.

Down below, Maria scowled, but didn't let it deter her. Amy, feeling worried because she still had no way of attacking, balled her fists. Having the ability to flee from danger like the hoothoot was doing was a sure advantage. If only she knew how to combat it.

"Don't pay attention to it, Cherry, use tackle!"

Had Amy been given the time, she would have laughed at yet another strange name, or perhaps wondered why the bird had been named so, but as it stood there was nothing for her to do but shout to Toto to get out of the way. With surprising speed, the hoothoot dropped from the sky, wings evening out to soar on the air. Reaching the totodile, it ducked its head, not only escaping the leer he was still trying to keep up, but also protecting its eyes from the impact. The crash was loud, heavy head and wings connecting with Toto's body.

The water pokémon was thrown backwards, landing on his head not far from where Amy was standing. She squelched the urge to run over to him, check he was all right, instead watched intently for the hoothoot's next move.

"Again!" Maria commanded.

Toto was getting to his feet, clearly startled at the sight of the brown cannonball hurling his way. Feathers flurried to the ground from the force, wind cutting at them, as the pokémon streamed forward.

"Dodge, Toto!"

However, the command hadn't even been necessary, because he had done just that. Not taken by surprise this time, the water pokémon managed to get out of the way. The hoothoot tried to turn in mid-air, head popping up to make sure it didn't fly into a wall. Its small body crossed a large part of the building in an attempt to take aim again, glaring eyes finding Toto easily even in the crowded tower.

"Keep dodging it, Toto!" Amy encouraged, relieved to see that her totodile seemed to be fast enough to do just that. With an angry shriek, the hoothoot bore down on its opponent, but again it caught just air. Toto had ducked just in time, only its tail sticking in the air, and even sharp claws couldn't quite grab onto that alone.

Several times this happened, until the totodile's jumps became slower and the hoothoot's beating wings too. Amy didn't know what to do. Scratching the pokémon wouldn't help at such a speed, the impact of being tackled much greater, but there was nothing else her totodile had learned.

Maria too seemed to ponder battle strategies, finally having had enough. Looking up, she bellowed her next command.

"Cherry, use foresight!"

All fighting between them suddenly paused. Toto remained on the ground, breathing heavily, while the hoothoot seemed suspended in the air. Its large eyes had closed, leaving the bird to only move its wings, and it seemed in full concentration. If only the totodile knew something other than scratch, this would have been a great time to attack. Instead Amy was left awaiting what this move would do, a nerve racking experience. Toto didn't seem to fare much better, for his stance betrayed that he was uncomfortable.

Rather abruptly, the hoothoot opened its eyes again. They seemed to gleam with knowledge, turning foresight into foreboding, but Amy had no idea of what. She held Toto's pokéball, not because she expected to have to call him back soon, but because it felt like the right thing to do.

"Tackle, Cherry!"

On the ground, Toto seemed to get ready to jump again. Muscles tensed, tail rigid, but there was doubt in his eyes. Amy couldn't blame him, she too worried about the effects of this strange attack. Foresight, what might it do?

The hoothoot let out a sharp cry, turning heads everywhere, and lunged at the water pokémon one more time. Sharp beak and claws became hard to ignore, and the totodile seemed petrified. When it realised it had to move, it was already too late. Cherry's speed was too much for even Toto's strong legs. With a cry Amy's pokémon was thrown into the air, falling backwards and landing smack into a wall. Toto's body shuddered, then he slumped to the ground. No more.

Opposite her, Amy could see Maria cheer and congratulate her pleased-looking hoothoot. She tried to ignore it, though, hurrying over to the prone form of her starter.

"Poor Toto," she murmured, placing a hand comfortingly on the water pokémon's cool skin. Not wanting him to suffer any longer, she hastily returned him to his pokéball. Getting up, Maria was standing next to her. Extending a hand, the girl looked a bit more sheepishly than she had earlier.

"Good battle."

Amy nodded, shaking her hand. Counting the money she now owed the girl, she had to grimace at how very little she had left. This was going to be harder than she'd thought.

Behind her, hovering worriedly, Carrie waited impatiently. Amy couldn't imagine having to deal with her comforting words, but it would still be better than having to stand here and realize the crowd around her had seen her lose. How embarrassing. Only, as she looked at her surroundings, she noticed most people had long since left to watch the silver bird and its owner defeat trainer after trainer. It must have battled quite a bit, Amy figured, but still there was nary a scratch on its shiny wings. Very impressive.

"That bird's going to be trouble," Jason commented, suddenly appearing next to Amy again. She hadn't seen him throughout the battle. Looking over to the shrieking monster at the other side of the room, she could do nothing but agree.


	12. Harsh Reality

**Disclaimer:** I do not own pokémon or any of its related enterprises. They are the property of their respective owners.

**Chapter Twelve: Harsh Reality.**

It was cold. While Amy had expected it be a bit chilly, she hadn't thought it was going to be quite this drafty in the tower. Clearly, years of wear and tear had caused the wood to splinter in places, and now the sun wasn't shining down on it she could feel the night seep through. Huddled in her sleeping-bag, she didn't much like the thought of leaving it.

The tower's rocking had become familiar to her, and as she sat there by herself, it had become rather comforting to feel its constant swaying. It was like being rocked in a cradle, which had proven to be hard to ignore. Twice now she'd almost fallen asleep, woken up by cries from outside. Hoothoot surveyed the area around the tower, having woken now night had fallen, and their predatory shrieks kept her awake. That, and the thought of doing what she'd come here for.

Amy had been quite interested in this pokémon they called 'Gastly', and Jason's urging had made her agree to spend the night in the Sprout Tower as opposed to a comfortable pokémon centre. She'd been momentarily upset when Jason had told her he'd missed her battle, but had soon forgiven him when he revealed he'd gotten permission from the elders for her to stay on the top floor. Right above her was the roof, and Amy had dared a short trip up there to gaze at the beautiful sunset that coated the blue sky in a myriad of vivid colours.

Below her, she knew, other trainers lay in wait. On her way up she'd passed two couples and a young boy, all looking to catch a pokémon. Perhaps, if she was lucky, they'd drive one or two of the creatures up there. She could vaguely hear their talking through the cracks, something Jason and Carrie had advised her not to do. She'd have to wait, they'd said, and be as quiet as she could.

Ghost pokémon, she knew, could be really fickle. Being the source of many a folklore, they had both a flighty and a teasing nature. They could be downright mean, but also in for games and joking around. Either way, their strange ways made it hard for them to be caught. As Amy sat there, she wasn't even sure she _wanted_ to get herself a gastly.

Pulling the warm, comforting sleeping-bag up higher, she surveyed the room again. It was empty, of course, and looked cold. As opposed to the buzzing presence of dozens of people earlier in the day, it now looked abandoned. She couldn't blame them, this wasn't the best time to be stationed up here. Shivering, Amy tried to ignore the boring eyes of the bellsprout statues. It was an odd feeling, being watched by great stony pokémon. Sure, they weren't alive, but Amy couldn't push back the feeling that someone was watching her. A gastly, perhaps, hiding inside one of those magnificent bellsprout.

Next to her, Weedle slept soundly. She'd released the little bug, sure it wouldn't make too much noise, and it hadn't. Toto remained in his pokéball, too much of a troublemaker to be able to deal with something like this. Amy was sure that, if given the chance, Toto would chase away even the most mischievous of gastly they could find, simply by his loud and callous nature.

Looking over at her small pokémon, she was glad to see he had recovered from the battle without trouble. They'd immediately taken the two fainted battlers over to the PokéCentre, where Nurse Joy took care of them skilfully. It didn't take her long at all, and Amy was on her way again soon after. They'd stopped at the pokémon mart as well, having had enough of battling for the day, and Amy had wasted her remaining funds on some paralyz heal and potions. She was well out of money now, but both Jason and Carrie had assured her that she'd win some soon enough. Until then, the adults had insisted they would help her if she needed anything.

Right now, though, both were probably asleep in a comfortable bed. They'd checked into the Centre, finding themselves directed to one of the numerous barracks that had been placed behind the place. With so many trainers staying there every night, the building itself couldn't house them all, so small wooden shacks had been erected and were now used as sleeping quarters. While not quite as comfortable as the centre's lush rooms, it had certainly looked better than Amy's current arrangement did. The floorboards beneath her were hard, causing her muscle to protest violently, and the wall she'd been leaning against was cold. No, it was definitely worse than anything she might have suspected.

So far she'd been awake for several hours and though she hadn't checked her watch in a while, she guessed it had to be well past midnight. Aside from a rattata – again, they seemed to be everywhere – disappearing in a nearby hole, she had yet to see anything resembling a pokémon. Sighing, Amy grabbed the book Carrie had given her and tried immersing herself in the quaint tale of Camper Cody and his caterpie.

About halfway through the third chapter, Amy felt the air change. Unlike earlier, where it had just been cold and slightly dusty, there was a sense of foreboding vibrating through the room. She stopped reading, carefully putting the book down on the mouldy floor. Weedle stirred, opening blinking eyes and peering at the vast expanse of the tower's fifth floor. He too seemed to notice something, and Amy felt a bit worried knowing the presence of this 'something' had been strong enough to wake him.

Squinting, she tried finding what had changed. The statues still regarded her calmly, and aside from the wind hitting the tower it was indescribably quiet. The trainers she'd heard talking earlier had stopped, probably asleep, and it was so still that Amy could hear her own quickened breathing.

Weedle crawled closer to her, soft body resting against Amy's hand. She didn't dare move, rather appreciated Weedle's subconscious attempt to reassure her, as she slowly turned her head. A whooshing sound to her right and she quickly turned to where she knew the stairs to be. Nothing, just a gaping hole and dull metal hinges.

The air currents changed suddenly, to her left this time, and her head snapped to the other side. It hurt her neck, this lightning fast movement, but she paid it no heed. Again, though, there was nothing but emptiness. Starting to feel really scared, Amy blindly reached for Toto's pokéball. At least with both her pokémon near, she'd be a bit safer.

As she was about to release her totodile, a soft chuckling floated towards her. Locating where it came from, she could barely breathe, eyes wide as she finally found what she'd been looking for. There, hovering over the bellsprout statue farthest away from her, was the most curious creature Amy had ever seen. In fact, she couldn't be sure it was a creature at all.

Wisps of something – air, energy, maybe – curled and tumbled around a round ball of dark matter. Large, prominent eyes took up most of its body, peering at her with what seemed to be amusement. Fangs, glinting even in the near-darkness, protruded from its top lip, a thin mouth too small to contain them. It didn't seem to have any limbs, simply hovered in mid-air, and its probing eyes were hard to ignore. This had to be a gastly.

The pokémon giggled, diving right through the statue and coming out the other end. Seemingly encouraged by Amy's shock and awe, it gave a low chuckle and tumbled about in the air, not caring if it ended up in a wall or piece of floorboard. The young girl could only imagine what the people beneath her would see if they were still awake.

The small weedle next to her shivered, nudging at her hand. Amy felt sorry for the small critter, realising how frightening this must be for him as well. There was something about being stuck in a menacing tower at night and facing a creature many a ghost story had been written about. Discreetly dropping Toto's pokéball in her lap, she reached back – keeping her eyes on the gastly at all times – and grabbed her pokédex. Thankful she'd remembered to turn the sound down before coming here, she held up the thing with shaking hands. It took a few attempts, but she finally managed to catch the pokémon as it looped through the air.

_Gastly: With its gas-like body, it can sneak into any place it desires. However, it can be blown away by wind. _

_I wonder where it hides during the day,_ Amy thought, sneaking a glance at the bellsprout statues again. Perhaps that was where they stayed, and that feeling of being watched hadn't just been her imagination? It would certainly prove enough entertainment, lingering in the tower during the day. For trickster pokémon, getting to watch endless battles between young trainers must be prime time amusement. Who knew what the ghost pokémon did to influence battles?

The pokédex entry hadn't told her much, but at least it had forced her to think like a trainer again. As she was being regarded by a chuckling clown – no other description suited the pokémon better - Amy picked up Toto's pokéball again. She'd come here for a reason, and that reason was currently attempting to scare the wits out of her poor Weedle. Making all sorts of strange faces, it seemed like this particular gastly didn't suffer being ignored too well. It had that in common with Toto, then.

Releasing her water pokémon, Amy kept an eye on the chuckling ghost levitating in the air and then turned to her appearing totodile. Toto, looking a bit sleepy as he was pulled from his pokéball, took a few seconds to take in his surroundings. Suddenly the totodile realized he was being watched. Puffing out his chest, the lizard chattered away at the gastly, not caring that the other was curiously looking down at him.

A loud giggle, appearing particularly scary in the empty room, and Toto snapped his mouth shut in anger. Being laughed at was not something he enjoyed. Appearing in front of him for just a second, the gastly giggled some more as the water pokémon attempted to hit him with his tail. In the blink of an eye, though, the gastly was behind Toto, large eyes spooking the creature as he turned around.

Laughing at the poor totodile, the ghost floated upwards again, eyes closed in merriment. Amy scowled, rummaging through her bag to find an empty pokéball. Grabbing one and stuffing another in her pocket, she got out of the sleeping-bag and raised herself up to her full height. Weedle, remaining at her feet, made faint noises, none too happy that his trainer had decided to engage this frightening opponent.

"That's it," Amy muttered, fingers tightening around the pokéball. "Toto, use scratch!"

More than happy to charge at their annoying opponent, Amy's totodile didn't take long to comply. With zealous, the frustrated water pokémon ran for the floating ball of gas, but couldn't do much as their opponent ascended. He stood there glaring, scratching at the air but too far away to get anywhere near the gastly.

"Leer, now!"

Toto's eyes glinted dangerously as he focused all his attention on the pest currently performing circles above him. It was a fascinating sight, one Amy would usually have found quite amusing, but right now it seemed like the ghost was mocking them.

Catching a glimpse of Toto's glaring eyes, though, the pokémon halted and a shudder racked the creature's gassy body. This seemed to spark something in it, for amused eyes turned angry, and the gastly floated downward a bit, ready to strike with its own attack.

"Now, Toto, scratch it!" Amy ordered, noticing how close the gas pokémon was getting to the ground. Jumping upwards, the totodile raised one sharp claw and brought it down on the gastly with a violent slash. An angry scowl was on Toto's face, right until his arm reached the gastly's face and cleaved right through. Not hitting anything, like he'd expected, the totodile lost his balance and toppled over. Hitting the ground face-first, the poor lizard whined as it smacked into the wood.

"Dangit!" Amy cursed, grabbing her pokédex and fiddling around with it. What kind of attack had that been? Eventually making it to gastly's entry, she was more than a bit annoyed to find that normal attacks – like scratch – wouldn't actually hurt the pokémon they were facing. Something she should have known. Now what did she do?

"Toto, use leer again!"

Getting up, muttering angrily, her pokémon did as asked. The gastly, though, hadn't been watching idly, instead preparing for an attack of its own. Appearing right in front of the water lizard, gastly opened its mouth wide. Faced by a gaping mouth and a large tongue, Toto found it hard to glare. Amy gave a startled cry as said tongue rolled out and licked Toto's entire face clean. The poor thing shuddered, trying to get away from such a vile attack.

The gastly giggled teasingly, following Toto as he charged around the room. A funny sight, to be sure, but right now Amy found it hard to enjoy. Balling her hands into fists, she almost crushed the pokéball she still held. Having to stand there and watch her pokémon get licked by a gastly was cruel.

Grabbing Toto's pokéball, she enlarged it. Holding it up, she scowled angrily. "Toto, return!"

Left with nothing to chase, the gastly turned towards her now. Growling in frustration, Amy looked down at her poor Weedle. It was up to him now. The tiny bug hadn't moved from his spot next to her feet, though scared eyes indicated it might have wanted to run away.

"It's up to you, Weedle."

With excruciatingly slow steps the weedle stepped forward, tiny feet making no sound on the run-down floor. It only added to the scary feel of it all, this silent warrior.

"Get him with a string shot, Weedle!"

Glad to oblige, though probably only because it wasn't a direct attack, Weedle immediately did as asked. String flew through the air, neatly evaded by the gastly's quick movements. Again Weedle gave it a go, but the gastly ducked out of the way every time. Pausing for a second and looking back at Amy, Weedle seemed unsure as to what he should do.

"Try again!" Amy encouraged, trying to look comforting and reassuring. She didn't know what she'd do if Weedle couldn't weaken this gastly enough.

This time the strings hit, mostly because the ghost pokémon had taken the time to spin around mockingly. Glaring at the filthy fibres now clinging to it, the gastly shook and shook, attempting to get it off. Amy would have none of that.

"Well done, Weedle! Now try some more!"

Again their opponent was hit with string shot, much more easily distinguishable now it was a floating ball of string. Something a meowth would play with, Amy mused. Twisting and turning in mid-air, the gastly had lowered significantly, but still not near enough to the ground to be touched by the weedle. Amy bit her lip.

Kneeling down, Amy beckoned for her weedle to come closer. She needed a plan if she wanted to catch this trickster.

"Crawl on my arm," she said softly, trying not to flinch as sticky feet left flimsy muck behind. Holding on to Weedle so he wouldn't fall, she got up again and stared down her opponent. As well as she could, anyway, with the moving around it did.

"Get ready to be thrown," she whispered, pulling back her arm. Weedle made a sound, indicating it had understood, and with a wicked throw it was launched at the unsuspecting gastly.

"Now, poison sting!" Amy yelled as Weedle was in mid-air. Aiming its stinger at the ball of white string, Weedle squinted in concentration and harshly connected with the ghost pokémon they'd been trying to catch. A thud and the bug landed on the floor, wind knocked out of its body. The gastly cried out, attempting to flee to the stairs that led to the roof. Afraid they'd lose it, Amy grabbed an empty pokéball and hurled it towards the gastly. It turned in the air, a dark red and scary grey combination here in this freaky tower, but missed the ghost by quite a bit. Bouncing on the wooden planks, Amy could hear it roll to the side. She'd missed.

"No!" Amy yelled as the gastly disappeared through the opening, and she quickly scooped up Weedle and climbed the ladder herself. It took a bit longer, humans not blessed with the power to levitate, but eventually she made it to the top of the tower again, immediately bombarded by strong winds.

Her brown hair was whipped into a frenzy, coiling around her head like snakes. It was clear the earlier breeze had picked up and now it was hard to even see properly. Pushing her hair back, she searched frantically for the escaped pokémon. Had the pokédex not said that gastly didn't much like the wind? This must not be a favoured spot, then, Amy decided. Checking all the places one might shelter from the wind, Amy finally found the white, fluffy gastly hiding under the tower's roof not far off. It looked frightened, pulling at some of the string that had gotten stuck as it was repeatedly slammed into the walls by the wind.

Putting Weedle on her arm again, Amy got ready to throw once more. Luckily the gastly wasn't anywhere near the railing, because otherwise she would never have felt safe enough to throw Weedle at anything. She didn't want her little bug tumbling to its doom.

"Poison sting, Weedle," she urged as she threw him again. Another decisive hit, and the gastly was torn free from it predicament. No longer stuck against the wall, it was viciously pulled up into the air. In danger of being carried away by the wind, it looked positively scared out of its mind.

"Weedle, string shot! And hold onto it!" Amy bellowed, running over. With the wind assaulting the sticky string, it seemed almost impossible for it to work, but they'd already seen how strong the stuff really was. Catching the gastly as it turned in mid-air, the weedle pulled back with all its might. It didn't help much, but it kept the gastly in place. For now. Amy didn't waste a second, grabbing her second pokéball and hurling it at the ghost. This time it struck, opening to suck the pokémon inside. Both the ball and the string shot floated to the ground, one flying away once Weedle let go, the other bouncing once and stopping against the railing.

It wobbled dangerously a few times, causing Amy to hurry closer in case it would be torn away by the wind, but eventually the moving ceased. Bending down, Amy picked it up with great care, not letting go. Turning back, she smiled. Grabbing Weedle – who looked about as afraid of the wind as the gastly had been – she descended the stairs in hurry. It was too dangerous to stay up there and she had no intention of staying any longer than she had to.

Dropping her weedle on the floor, she made her way over to the bag she'd left behind. Looking for her watch, it took her several minutes and three attempts at emptying the bag to remember she had tied the thing to her sleeping bag so it wouldn't get lost. Checking to see what time it was, its flashing digits told her it was nearing six o'clock. Way too late, or too early, depending, to get much by the way of sleep. Yawning a bit, she considered what she would do. Carrie and Jason had told her they were usually up at the crack of dawn, even while sleeping in a PokéCentre, and had urged Amy to come join her. Besides, soon visitors would come trickling in, and she had no intention of being caught in her pyjamas by a bunch of tourists.

Hearing shuffling behind her, Amy turned as she was contemplating what she'd do. Weedle, pushing a red-and-white pokéball with his head, had returned.

"Oh, thank you, Weedle!" Amy called out, delighted, pocketing the pokéball she'd forgotten all about. What a waste of money that would have been. She'd heard about people finding spare pokéballs all over the place and suddenly realised why. So wrapped up in catching that gastly, she hadn't even thought about the missed attempt.

"We should probably name our gastly, shouldn't we, Weedle? It'll be the first with a proper name, too!"

Beady eyes regarded her curiously, but didn't seem to really understand what she was on about. Sighing, Amy gingerly touched the weedle's head and shrugged. Pulling out her pokédex and the gastly's pokéball, she was ready to start this naming business. First order, releasing the pokémon and checking its gender. She wasn't going to make the mistake of mismatching names, like so many had undoubtedly done before her.

With a flash the gastly was released from its pokéball. Large, white eyes blinked, at first looking at their surroundings in terror. Satisfied it wasn't going to be blown away, the ghost pokémon soon relaxed a bit. Still, it regarded the girl and weedle with a bit of trepidation and anger. Being caught had probably not been part of its plan.

Not bothering to react to the suspicious glaring, Amy grabbed her remaining full pokéball from her belt, unhooking the thing and releasing Toto. The small lizard made as much ruckus as was to be expected, but quieted down when it caught sight of the gastly floating before it. Arms raised and eyes narrowed, the water pokémon advanced with a cry, slashing away at the by now familiar gassy form. He had not forgotten being recalled during a battle.

"Toto," Amy tried, sighing. She watched calmly as Toto kept scratching at the ghost, getting himself nowhere. Giggling and mocking facial expressions was all it resulted in, and Amy couldn't really blame either of them. It was a strange scene. At least Toto didn't know any water attacks yet, that would just prove a right mess if he ever got that far.

Letting the two settle their differences – or attempt to, anyway – Amy lifted her pokédex, aiming it at her gastly's see-through body.

_Gastly: With its gas-like body, it can sneak into any place it desires. However, it- _

"No, no," Amy interrupted the thing, pressing buttons rapidly. Finally, she'd found the function she'd been looking for.

_Species, Gastly. Type, Ghost Pokémon. Gender, Female,_ the device croaked, its monotone voice sounding hollow in the huge structure of the tower.

"Female! So you're a girl! Imagine that." Amy grinned, looking over at the playful gastly soaring through the air. While the ghost pokémon seemed most amused, Toto still hadn't given up on trying to hit her with his claws. Problem was, even when the gastly was near enough to reach, the sharp nails phased right through. If only the lizard would realize that.

"You need a very fitting name," she muttered, considering the list of attributes and personality quirks the pokédex listed as being common for a gastly. There were plentiful, mostly concerned with scaring people, but there was also a funny side to the creatures.

"Cunning, scary, playful, a born trickster..."

Talking to herself, Amy paused at that last term. Trickster. While fighting her, the gastly had shown great love for mocking them and playing tricks on their mind. It seemed to fit her more than really scaring them, too.

"I know!" the young girl decided. "You like tricks, don't you? How about just that, Tricks!"

Repeating the name to herself a couple of times, Amy rather liked the sound. It was a good name and worked well for a trickster pokémon like gastly. The pokémon herself didn't even look her way, though, not bothered about a name. Instead she cackled loudly, the chime of mirth ringing through the tower like a gong, and Toto gave a loud squeak. Before Amy could even comment, the two had continued their hopeless game again and the water pokémon ran himself ragged.

Shrugging, Amy returned Weedle to his pokéball and started packing. If the lizard wanted to tire himself out before the day had even really begun, then he was free to. It would save a lot of trees a lot of hassle.

Down below, she could hear faint movement, indicating the tower – and with it, the city – was slowly coming to life. Smiling to herself, Amy continued stuffing everything in her bag. It was time for another day.

-

As Amy reached the PokéCentre, she felt pretty happy with herself. It was a beautiful morning, and thought she felt a little tired, she was curious to see what the day would bring her. Not to mention she'd caught herself a gastly and, though Toto had nearly fainted trying to scratch something that couldn't be scratched, Weedle had done really well. That should say something, right? Nearing the doors of the centre, Amy realised how quiet it was this early. While daytime proved to result in an onslaught of feet thumping down the path, right now it was unmistakably calm. A lazy hoothoot looked at her from a tree branch, eyes tired, but apart from that she was all alone. Amy had to admit she liked it, and as she entered the centre she saw that only a few people were already up. Among those few, though, was a frantic Jason.

"Amy, there you are! I was about to come get you," he said, carrying over the bag Amy had seen him tow around everywhere. Five pokéballs were returned to him by Nurse Joy and he quickly clipped them to his belt. He looked hassled, like something was wrong, and Amy felt worried about this sudden change in character. Had something terrible happened?

Jason brushed a hand through his long hair, stuffing a towel in the already full travel-bag. The look in his eyes – worried, fearful – spoke of trouble, causing her to shiver. Yes, Amy was sure of it, something was definitely wrong.

"I have to go to the National Park. A friend of mine is picking me up. I don't yet know what it's about, but it sounded urgent," Jason explained hurriedly. "I talked to Carrie about it and you can either stay with her and help her with her research, or join me. We won't be travelling on foot, so you won't slow me down, but I can't promise that I'll have time to take care of you once we're there."

Amy gaped at him, unsure what to make of all this. Something had happened? They'd discussed at length their plans to go to the National Park, but that hadn't included leaving before her first gym-battle. At the same time, though, she was a bit afraid of stepping into that gym without as much as winning a match. Having to crawl on all fours, looking for the deceptively plant-like oddish, didn't sound particularly inviting either. Still, at least she'd be safe with Carrie.

"It's your choice, Amy," Jason commented, noticing the look on her face. He gave her a reassuring smile, but she could see he was upset. Clearly the message he'd received – though apparently vague – had shook him to the core.

"I'll go," she answered, too curious to stay behind. Who knew when she'd finally get to the National Park if she didn't go now? Carrie had no intention of leaving any time soon, and the trek to get there would be long and perilous were she to go alone. No, she'd much rather go with Jason instead.

Suddenly the silence was shredded apart by something thundering down the path outside the Centre. Glancing out the window, Amy couldn't see what it was, mostly because a huge cloud of dust now obscured the square from view. The few people already awake focused bleary eyes on the window as well, but seemed more annoyed than curious. Jason, however, perked up and appeared quite pleased.

He turned to Amy and grinned. "Our ride is here. How about you go and leave your pokémon with Nurse Joy for a second, I'm sure they could use a quick rest, while I go greet my friend."

Nodding dumbly, Amy watched him walk off. Figuring she might as well do as told, she walked over to Nurse Joy, immediately feeling sorry for the poor woman as she saw the tired look on the nurse's face.

"Bad night?" she inquired as she handed over her pokémon.

A sigh. "You could say that. Some boy with a skarmory managed to short-circuit most of our computers. I told him to keep all that metal away from my sensitive equipment, but he wouldn't listen. Or, at least, the skarmory wouldn't. It's unfortunate when people get in over their head."

Amy had no idea what a skarmory was, but she could guess. The image of a shining bird, wings sharp and dangerous, was engraved in her mind. No, a skarmory was not a pokémon she ever wanted to own. Majestic or not, to her it was too much like a robot with artificial intelligence, and who knew when it would snap?

"Not to worry, though, we managed to fix it," the nurse mumbled. "Ah, and here are your pokémon."

Thanking the woman as she took back her team, Amy had to smile as she clipped three pokéballs on her belt instead of two. Hopefully Jason would be impressed with her capture, once she told him, and she couldn't wait to get to a phone and try calling Derek again. A weedle wasn't much, but a gastly might just be something he'd approve of. All in all, she felt a bit better about herself.

Walking outside, she noticed the dust had cleared. Finally she could see what had caused it, too, and had to admit she was rather impressed by the sight before her. Jason was standing next to a tall woman whose short blonde hair spiked upwards in an unnatural way. She wore a shimmering red tracksuit and had slung a small leather bag over her shoulder. All in all, she looked...odd.

Next to her, though, stood two rather impressive creatures Amy didn't recognize. They were birds, that much she could tell, and had long, gangly legs with big nails adorning three-toed feet. Round, fluffy bodies shook every time the birds moved, feathers rustling, and slender necks lead to three heads – each one with a snappy beak. Sharp eyes took her in, though Amy could see two of the three heads on either pokémon had been covered with a thick hood. As one of the two birds turned away from her in disinterest, she could see that not only did they have a massive black plume on their heads, but they also had a feathery tail of a reddish-pink colour.

For a second she hesitated, not liking the way that one pokémon was looking at her, but when Jason noticed her, he beckoned Amy to come forward. Gingerly she did so, but stayed as far away as she could from the glaring bird and its sharp beak. The woman smiled kindly, giving the pokémon a smack on the head. Shrieking, it eventually turned away and allowed Amy to get in closer.

"Don't mind them, sweetie, they're just annoyed they had to be up so early," the woman said, winking slyly at her as both pokémon gave a chortled reply. Amy could imagine not being amused, especially if they had to carry the woman there before the crack of dawn. Now she was closer, she could see the harness both bird pokémon wore, encircling their bodies and necks to provide something for a human to hold onto. Their feet had been the cause of the cloud of dust, and as Amy took them in she wasn't surprised in the slightest. They didn't look like something she wanted to get hit by.

"Amy, meet Angela and her dodrio," Jason said, motioning to the two pokémon and their owner. Shaking a leather-clad hand, Amy had trouble not feeling utterly dumbfounded by the woman. Sure, Carrie was inspiring in her own right, but Angela was different. She stood tall, with an easy smile, and looked fierce. Her appearance spoke of speed, the way she treated her dodrio of power, and Amy was in total awe of her.

"What do you think of my two pidgey, Amy?" Angela asked, giving a thunderous laugh as both dodrio attacked the ground with their feet. Necks twisted and turned as the they attempted to snap at their disrespectful trainer, but Angela patted them away with practised ease. They appeared angry, but Amy recognized that they had no real intention of hurting the woman.

"They're amazing," Amy murmured, her quiet admission calming the birds down. Instantly they seemed to decide that this short human wasn't so bad, for one of them crooned at her excitedly. Amy giggled softly, appreciating them more now they weren't attempting to kill her with their eyes. She had yet to hear of stares actually being able to kill, but these pokémon had sure given it a try.

"Ah, yes, flattery will get you anywhere with these two." Smiling down at her, Angela gave her another quick wink before turning back to Jason.

"Do you know what's going on?" he asked, his question turning the conversation from amusing to serious. The both of them now had grim looks on their faces, and even the dodrio seemed to notice something was up. They moved restlessly as their owner shook her head.

"No. I was training at Route 31 when Bugsy called me. He asked me to pick you up and meet him at the National Park. He said nothing else, just urged me to hurry."

"Did he sound worried to you?"

Angela sighed. "Very."

Amy didn't dare comment as she saw the look on both their faces. Jason seemed incredibly put off, none too happy with the position they were now in. For someone who always seemed to have an answer for everything, the sight of him so worried seemed like a horrible situation. At the same time he looked determined, though, which was mirrored by Angela's confident expression. Whatever it was, they could handle it.

"We better not linger, then," Jason commented, tugging at the straps on his backpack one last time. It wouldn't do for them to become undone while travelling. "Amy will be joining us. Think your dodrio can handle one extra person?"

Angela made to answer, but indignant shrieking seemed to answer the question for her. Instead, though, the blonde grabbed another pokéball from her waist.

"They would be able to, but I think I have an even better solution."

A bright flash told Amy another pokémon had been released. Blinking a bit, she was surprised to see a small dodrio-like pokémon be greeted by the two bigger ones. One of the two savage beasts even crooned softly at it, like it had done to Amy, and brushed dull brown feathers with gentle movements of its beak.

"Amy, meet Timid," Angela said, introducing the bird. Timid looked around with interest, trying to see round the big forms of its companions. It only had one head, Amy saw, but its legs were just as impressive and its beak just as sharp. It was stout and sturdy, definitely strong enough, Amy figured, to hold her weight.

"Timid was born a couple of months ago, but we've been training hard," Angela continued, pulling a leather harness from her bag. "So she should be able to keep up with us, considering Amy is much lighter and her parents have been running around all morning."

Dropping the combination of leather and metal on the young bird's back, some simple tugs put it in place. Amy watched with interest as the contraption was laced around the bird's neck, then fastened with some belt buckles and looped around each powerful leg. Timid's parents watched carefully, while Timid herself didn't seem at all worried. It looked like they had done this before.

Angela handed a pokéball to Amy, the red surface of the thing scratched and worn-out. Amy could only imagine the onslaught of beaks and falls it must have received. "If you fall behind, however, just follow Route 36 and meet us at the National Park. I'm sure Timid will listen to you, but simply return her if she gets stubborn."

Amy nodded, clipping the pokéball to her belt. It felt like cheating, somehow, to accept it from the woman, but she knew it wasn't for keeps. Hell, ordering Timid around would probably result in much embarrassment, for Derek had always warned her against attempting to boss around someone else's pokémon. Staring at the gentle eyes of the bird, she didn't feel quite as worried, though. Besides, with her recently captured gastly, she was sure to make an impression if she were to get in trouble.

"How long will it take for us to get there?" she asked, zipping up her jacket in preparation for the trip. High-speed running could get really cold, she knew, and she wasn't going to be caught off-guard. Tying her brown hair into a pony-tail as well, she was ready to go.

"Half a day, tops," Angela answered, sliding reigns over the smaller bird's head. "The National Park isn't far at all, plus these guys are incredibly fast. Only a rapidash could outrun us."

Finishing with the smooth leather she'd fastened around Timid's delicate head, Angela stepped back to survey her work. With a satisfied nod she returned to her other pokémon, untying the large knot their reigns had created through the pokémon's restless moving about. Jason attempted to help, but was pecked at by one of the creatures, leaving him to look very troubled. Amy didn't envy him the task of riding such an angry bird, especially since neither seemed too fond of anyone but their owner.

"Here, you take Curious. She's less likely to act up," Angela told Jason, not noticing the way both Amy and the man gazed at the pokémon she was holding in apprehension. It had ruffled its feathers, seemingly growing in size, and looked about ready to tear him apart. No, Amy was glad to be left with the docile Timid, who was dozing off pleasantly in the flimsy morning sunlight.

It took Jason quite a while to get on the dodrio he was supposed to ride, the female's huffing and puffing indicating how displeased she was with his fumbling. Holding onto the straps that encircled her neck, Jason didn't even bother to pick up the reigns. He was self-consciously staring at the ground, both hands trying to keep himself from falling. Scratching furiously at the road's surface, Curious really wasn't helping.

Angela, of course, was used to the constant mounting of her birds and jumped on with one fluent movement. Her feet found the loops instantly, sliding through them until they were at her thigh. She wasn't going to fall. Gently tugging the reigns, Angela directed her pokémon to where Amy was standing and the male bird – tall and imposing – listened without fault. Facing the bulky body of this angry steed, Amy quickly hopped onto hers. It was a bit easier, Timid being closer to the ground, but both their inexperience showed as they swayed from side to side. Amy flinched as she pulled out some feathers, and Timid chortled softly as she tried regaining control of her wayward legs. Finally achieving so, Amy clutched the harness with all her might. Slipping her legs through like she'd seen Angela done, she considered staying seated a mild achievement. Where travelling on the back of a pidgeot had been an amazing experience, somehow this manner of transportation seemed a little less safe. Which was questionable, Amy realised, because at least they were close to the ground.

"Ready, everyone?" Angela asked, nudging her pokémon's side. Both trainers nodded. "Okay, then! Bold and I will lead the way. The others should follow. Off we go!"

Somehow Amy doubted it was going to be that easy. With both her and Jason looking terribly uncomfortable – and Timid's hesitant steps – simply getting where they wanted to in one mad dash seemed out of the question. Tightening her grip on the cold strip of leather around her pokémon's neck, Amy awaited the lurch she knew was coming.

In front of her Timid's parents gave a shrill cry. Finally set free, they leaped into action with a giant burst of energy. Their necks shot forward, followed by a round body and two trainers, while feet thumped away on the dusty surface. Soon Timid followed, her steps becoming steadier as she gained more speed. Bent down, Amy frantically slung her arms around the bird's neck, not bothering with the harness Angela had so carefully constructed. As far as she saw it, Timid's neck wasn't going to fall off.

It was, however, almost horizontal as all three pokémon provided the city with one hellacious wake-up call. Amy swore she could see Carrie wave at her from the distance, but couldn't be sure as they sped down the path. Nothing had ever prepared her for the force they were storming down away from the city with and Amy fervently hoped no one would get in their way. Undoubtedly, it was be rather hard to brake.

Trees shot past so fast that Amy only realised they were there once they'd also left them far behind. Now and then, they'd pass a bewildered trainer – some even shouting out challenges, no one listened – but most of the time Amy had her eyes shut. Not used to the gusts of wind being flung in her face, she'd buried her face against Timid's soft neck and simply held on.

The speed was remarkable, though, and Amy was in awe of the muscles she felt moving underneath her. Clawing at the dirt with rough nails, it felt like the pokémon left nothing but destruction behind. Eventually shutting her eyes again, protecting them from harm, Amy let herself be carried.

-

The journey went far more smoothly than Amy had expected. Used to frequent breaks and much stumbling about, the sensation of moving around effortlessly was something she could only appreciate. The two dodrio, heads held high and calling proudly whenever they passed someone, didn't seem to tire, and even Timid's gait hadn't changed much. Though Amy could feel the doduo's muscles clench uncomfortably now and then, the quiet pokémon didn't let on and just continued its hasty pace.

Once or twice a pokémon would try to keep up with them, a pidgey soaring overhead or a sentret bouncing after them in curiosity, but they never managed to follow for long. Amy could swear, though, that a lone form – high in the sky – followed their every move, wings apparently big enough to keep up with their frantic run. It left her curious, but branches and billowing dust kept her from staring up for long. It was like the road itself was angry at the pokémon for destroying it and whipped up sand whenever it could. Out of spite, Amy figured.

They took a short break somewhere around noon, relaxing near a picturesque lake. All three pokémon gulped down water greedily as their riders lounged in the shadow of a tall oak tree, two of them grateful to be sitting down, the other throwing random strips of meat towards the birds. Amy hadn't even considered they would eat something other than insects, but it seemed they were as ferocious as they'd first appeared.

Allowing them some rest, the two adults discussed something in hushed tones as Amy amused herself with watching Weedle scurry around in the bushes. The three birds had eyed the critter, but with one well-aimed branch had been shooed off by Angela. Weedle was not on the menu.

At one point Amy was sure she saw a tree moving, but considered it a trick her mind was playing on her and continued watching her smallest pokémon move about.

Not soon after that, they were off again, startling trainers left and right as they dashed through the undergrowth, occasionally scaling a well-hidden ledge. Amy had gotten tired without actually doing anything, finding paying attention to the scenery flashing by to be taxing on her brain. She held on with the same vigour, though, as Timid had begun stumbling on occasion, clearly getting tired. Trying to help the poor bird, Amy stayed as central as she could, not moving at all lest she bring Timid out of balance. Her own muscles had started aching some hours into their run, but she ignored them. At least she didn't have to do all the hard work, poor Timid was left doing all of that. So she kept quiet and tried to help the creature as well as she could.

Time went flying by as fast as they did, and Amy was more than surprised to see the rugged plains make way for trimmed grass. Neat roads came together, then branched out again, and occasionally she could spy a house not far off. They were closing in on their destination, she realised, and excitement slowly grew, though she felt a bit of fright at the same time. Passing an impressive fence – surrounding a large field on which miltank roamed – Amy caught sight of the first sign that pointed towards the National Park.

The three pokémon slowed down instinctively when other trainers showed up, some heading for the Park by bike, others on foot. One, even, sped past them on the back of a fiery ponyta, causing the birds to shriek angrily. There had to be some sort of rivalry there, Amy supposed. All trainers were different, some young, some old, but all aiming for the same Johto landmark.

"We should be almost there now!" Angela called, causing Amy to sit up straighter and gaze into the distance.

Through the few trees that were still blocking their way she could see a large building rise up. By now she'd gotten used to the gate houses that were spread throughout Johto, and they'd started to become a beacon of new, interesting experiences. Amy knew that whenever she passed those heavy doors, she'd find herself stepping into a place she'd never been before. Such was the case today, as well.

The trio got off once they'd neared the building, leading their pokémon by their reigns. The momentary cool of the guard house sent a chill up Amy's spine, but nothing could prepare her for the cold dread that would attack her next.

Leaving the building, she'd expected to be greeted by vivid green trees and long, thick grass. Carrie had told her about the National Park and, aside from its bug infestation, it had sounded like a charming place. Wooden benches, beautifully crafted fences, and delicate flowers, they'd all sounded like things she'd loved to see. In reality, though, things had changed drastically.

In front of her, causing every new visitor to halt and gasp, lay the charred remains of what once had been the famous National Park. Small fires still raged, leaving blackened trails across fields of muddied green. Water pokémon darted after them, groups of wartortle leading the charge, but it was clear that the fire had already done quite a lot of damage. Nothing except tufts of grass appeared untouched, and most trees had been reduced to mere splinters lying brokenly on the ground.

It was unclear where the road led to, the colours dull and similar, but they gravely stepped onto it anyway. The look of utter shock and revulsion on Jason's face made Amy feel even worse, and Angela also looked close to tears. Eyeing the barren wasteland, Amy was glad Carrie had stayed where she was.

Trainers were being held back by policemen not far from them, entrance sealed off by flimsy ribbons. Those with water pokémon released them without question, sending them off to where they could do some good. Amy looked at her own belt, but knew Toto would be useless. _She_ was useless. Daring to glance at the black and charred remains of what must have once been a pokémon, Amy let out a strangled cry.


End file.
